Time Bound I: Fracturing
by Gentle Hobbit
Summary: A planet's distress call prompts Eleven to invite Ten and Rose to adventure with him and River. But as fractures appear on the planet, so do they in Ten and Rose's relationship.
1. Reunion

**Author's Notes:** This 2-part story is a sequel to both "The Trial of Ten" and "Time Sense"

While there are a few references to those stories, it isn't necessary to read them to understand this new one. The main thing to understand is that Ten (the Metacrisis Doctor) and Rose have returned to their original universe. However, Ten became exiled to Earth by the Shadow Proclamation (_The Trial of Ten_). He and Rose now work as freelancers for UNIT and are posted to various places around the U.K. in order to solve mysteries. One such location was Lindisfarne (_Time Sense_). The NATS are time creatures that made their first appearance at Lindisfarne (_Time Sense_).

**Disclaimer: **This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All Doctor Who characters within belong to the BBC. All other characters are fictitious. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.

* * *

**Chapter 1:** _Reunion_

A small, verdant planet floated around its young star, as orbiting bodies are wont to do. This particular sphere bore a passing resemblance to Earth, although it was a little smaller and slightly greener. A shining marble in space, it would have given the impression of an idyllic planet-wide Emerald Isle, or continents covered by the green fields of England.

That is, if any eyes familiar with those places were there to see it.

But then, something strange happened to this delicate, green-hued world. Something an outside observer could only describe as a shudder travelled swiftly around the globe as it rotated and spun within its orbit. Fog, cloud and sandstorms rolled across previously clear areas of the globe. In some areas, where it was still possible to see through the sudden murk, fissures cracked the ground.

Within minutes, this seemingly tranquil and beautiful green marble of a sphere transformed itself into a planet in distress.

And only a few minutes after that, the first space-bound signal issued forth from the planet: a cry for help.

**Eleven and River**

Song birds trilled and fluttered in the hedges. Oak and hawthorn trees shaded the garden. The hawthorn was in bloom and pink and white petals were scattered over the path. In a sunny back corner of the garden stood a pergola. Ivy and jasmine wound tendrils over the wooden latticed structure. In front of a tall blue box lay a low stone cottage with a thatched roof.

"Well!' said Eleven as he stepped out of the Tardis and looked around. 'This isn't quite what I expected.'

'Really?' asked River as she pulled the door to and stretched, her arms above her. 'Ahh, just look at this. How perfectly... pastoral. You've never taken me anywhere pastoral before.'

'Didn't really plan on it this time,' mumbled Eleven. He scuffed the grass under his feet and sniffed the air. 'Has he gone domestic, do you think?'

'Why wouldn't he?' she asked. 'Stuck on Earth in one time. Why not try new things?'

'Yes, but _really_,' he murmured. At the sound of a door opening, he brightened. 'Ah! Sounds of life. Maybe we'll find out this is all an illusion. Although I'd rather not be having another dream.' He brushed his mop of a fringe away from his eyes.

River pinched him hard and he yelped. 'No dream, sweetie,' she said, smiling serenely.

**Rose**

The moment she heard the familiar wheeze of the Tardis, Rose fought to extricate her hands from the gooey mass of dough. It was more difficult than she expected, but even amidst her surprise and eagerness to see Eleven, she was very conscious of her messy state. The last thing she wanted to do was to leave splotches of flour on the very undomestic Time Lord when she hugged him. Her thoughts rebelled against the very image.

Her headlong rush out the door stopped abruptly. Eleven stood there, as she expected, in the familiar tweed jacket and bowtie, but there was a woman beside him who seemed as if she had just finished pinching him, judging from his yelp and double take. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief and a riot of curls framed her face. Amy and Rory were nowhere to be seen.

'Doctor?' she asked hesitantly.

Eleven smiled broadly and advanced towards her. Gone was that slight awkwardness he wore around her the last time they parted.

'Rose!' he exclaimed and took her by the shoulders. To her bemusement, he kissed her on each side of her cheeks with a flourish and stood back as if pleased with himself.

'What?' asked Rose, suppressing an urge to giggle.

'It's my greeting,' explained Eleven. 'An elegant greeting. I'm being elegant.' He leaned forward with a sudden, small, worried look. 'I am, aren't I?'

'Terribly,' said the woman beside him and she smirked.

'Now you're done, come here,' ordered Rose and she put her arms around him. 'Good to see you,' she whispered and hugged him hard. When they disengaged, she tried not to notice the woman surreptitiously brushing off some flour from Eleven's back.

'So, er, what's this?' Eleven gestured at Rose's messy hands. 'You haven't, ah, "gone domestic", have you?' He peered at her, his forehead furrowed.

'Oh yes,' said Rose solemnly. 'My mum would be thrilled. Baking, cleaning... we have matching lace curtains in every window. The Doctor... Ten, I mean, loves it and wonders why we never decorated the Tardis. It's only taken him a year to settle down.'

As she spoke, a look of horror spread over Eleven's face. She clasped her floury hands together and beamed at him.

Eleven swallowed, looked at the woman beside him and then back at Rose. 'I didn't realise... oh my.'

The woman's eyes sparkled. 'Why haven't you ever let me decorate the Tardis, sweetie?'

He gulped. 'The... the Tardis? You aren't seriously...'

'I'm having you on, silly,' said Rose. 'And so is she.' She crossed her arms and tilted her head. She glanced at the woman who smirked.

Eleven visibly relaxed. 'So... it's been a year since I dropped you two off at Lindisfarne?

'Yep,' said Rose. 'And we've been posted at a few places since. This is the latest, though nothing's happened yet. But, um... by the way, who is she? You haven't introduced us yet.'

He tensed again. 'Oh, ah... right!' He nodded rapidly. 'Yes. Rose Tyler, River Song. River Song, Rose Tyler.'

'Hi,' said Rose.

'Hello!' said River. She crossed the short distance and linked her arm through Rose's. 'I've heard a lot about you. I do hope we can be chums.'

Rose stiffened and looked at Eleven. 'I thought you never talked about us after you move on. Why does she-'

'Oh, he still doesn't,' interrupted River. 'But I don't let him get away with that. And you, Rose, are different. I just had to meet you and have a really good chat. I'd love to hear the real story from you!'

'The real story?' Rose raised her eyebrows and then suddenly grinned. This sounded promising to her. 'What would you like to know?'

'Good heavens,' muttered Eleven. 'The missus and the ex. Mickey was right.' He raised his voice. 'Er, Rose, where's Ten? And... why are you baking?'

'Ten? I'll take you to him... though,' and here she hesitated. 'It's all a bit of a secret here on Ear... here.' She glanced at River and back again. 'She all right?'

'Oh, yeah,' said River. 'I love secrets.' She squeezed Rose's arm and then let her go.

'You can trust her,' said Eleven. 'Well, most of the time.'

'And the rest of the time is so much more fun.' River stepped back and gave Eleven a wicked smile. He blanched.

'I think I might like you,' Rose said to River. 'Keep him on his toes, do you?'

'Absolutely.' River beamed.

'When she isn't trying to kill me,' said Eleven.

This time River linked her arm through Eleven's and batted her eyelashes. 'Were you speaking literally or figuratively?'

Eleven coughed. 'Both. Rose... please talk. Why baking?'

'It's a dare,' Rose said, smirking. 'He tried making scones yesterday. It's his new thing. Cream teas. He can't get enough of them, but shops aren't always open. So he thought he'd make them as well as-or better than-anyone. You know, superior Time Lord baking.'

'He tried baking?' Eleven's eyebrows rose. 'Ten?'

Rose chortled. 'It was a disaster. The biggest mess. Mind you, I think he had fun making it turn out that way. But then he dared me to do better.'

'Dared you to make better scones or a bigger mess?' asked River.

Rose pondered. 'I'm not sure. But I'm not gonna compete with his messes. He just has too much fun with them.'

River laughed. 'I like him already. And how are you doing so far?'

'Not like my mum.' Rose shrugged. 'But the dough is still in the bowl. Where it should be.'

Eleven's eyebrows rose a fraction higher. 'And is the kitchen a disaster?'

'No,' she said defiantly. 'I was just about to... um.. make the lumps... er... scones.'

'Right,' said Eleven, shifting from foot to foot. 'When's Ten coming back?'

She hesitated. 'Sooner or later.'

'Sounds like a Time Lord,' said River. 'I can hardly wait to meet him.'

'You know about him?'

'Oh yes,' gushed River. 'Instant metacrisis-grown from the Doctor's spare hand. A real conversation starter, I must say.'

'Doctor?' Rose stared at Eleven, eyebrows raised again. 'Blabbing in your old age?' Eleven had never talked to her about past experiences, lives or companions-that is, until they came back from the past and confronted him, like Sarah Jane. None of his incarnations that she had known had done this. What made this new companion so different?

'Oh, don't blame him,' said River. She patted Eleven on his arm. 'He can never say "no" to me. Besides, with the Tardis on my side, I can find out anything I want to.'

'Oh, really?' said Rose, fascinated despite herself. _The Tardis on her side?_ she thought. _What did that mean?_ 'There are a few things I've always wanted to know.'

'It's a date,' promised River. She turned to Eleven. 'Well, lover, we have to wait and there are scones to make.'

'River,' said Eleven with a pained voice. 'Time Lords do not bake.'

'Clearly, they do. The other Doctor tried it, so I simply must see you with flour over your hands. Come on!'

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

'So, where is this marvellous meta-crisis Time Lord of yours,' River had asked when the scones were safely in the oven and the timer set, and Eleven was leaning against the counter, fastidiously picking out dough from between his fingers.

'Up on the ridge,' Rose had answered. 'The Ridgeway, they call it.'

And so they walked along a wooded path up onto the ancient Ridgeway that looked over the green valley and the further, slightly misty downs. In the distance lay the graceful lines of a huge white horse cut into the chalk of the hillside. Rowan, beech and oak trees lined the path. A single chaffinch warbled high above them from the tops of the trees.

Rose led them through a curiously elongated kissing-gate and down a long path to a large stand of trees. But when they reached the edge of the grove, she paused and put a finger to her lips. Both Eleven and River looked at her curiously but they simply nodded and followed her cautiously into the grove.

Tall beech trees ringed the roughly rectangular area, dappled sunlight shifting lazily over the green. At the end closest to Rose, Eleven and River were four standing stones guarding a low but wide grassy mound that stretched out behind it down the length of the grove.

'Wayland's Smithy,' murmured Eleven with fascination. 'Looked different last time I was here. Same stones, though.'

'Oooh,' said River, equally quietly but with shining eyes. 'I love barrow mounds.'

Rose nodded but merely beckoned them forward as she walked past the front of the great stones and to the other side of the barrow. She smiled then and watched the others make their discovery as they rounded the corner and the last of the guarding stones.

Ten lay back against the slope of the mound, his arms outstretched and his eyes closed. All around him, clustered against his body, swarmed a multitude of tiny, glowing creatures in a kind of nimbus.

'What is...' whispered Eleven. He stepped forward cautiously and River followed him.

Rose stayed back, watching. She knew that she couldn't go any closer, but something kept her from warning River.

Eleven and River crept forward, but neither Ten nor the glowing creatures paid them any attention. It was only when Eleven knelt on the slope and slowly held out his hand to the cloud of the jiggling pin-points of light that the creatures lazily swirled around his hand. River held her hand out also, and the creatures wafted around her as well. Within seconds, however, they flowed back to press themselves once more against Ten. River grinned, fascinated, but moved back to give Eleven more room. She glanced back at Rose.

Rose smiled and nodded her head. After a moment, Ten opened his eyes.

'Ooer,' he said sitting up. The creatures winked out rapidly one by one and soon the glow was gone. 'Hello!'

'Hello there,' said Eleven. 'You aren't surprised. Why not? I like surprising people. It's fun.'

'Sorry!' said Ten, leaning back on his elbows. 'They told me you were here. Besides, I could feel you as soon as you arrived.'

'They? Those beings? They're time creatures, aren't they. I could feel it.'

'Oh yes!' said Ten eagerly. 'You'll never guess what they are!' He bounded to his feet and caught sight of River. He stopped abruptly, his eyes impossibly wide. The earlier enthusiasm dropped away and he stared. 'River,' he breathed. His hands fell to his sides and he took a step backward.

'That's me,' River said, but she frowned. 'You've met me before, obviously. But why are you looking at me like that?'

'Because last time I saw you...' He stopped abruptly and ran a hand through his hair. 'Er, yes. Was quite an adventure, that.'

'Must have been,' she answered rather dryly though she watched him closely.

Rose came forward and stood by Ten's side. He had calmed down, but she could feel tension through his arm as it pressed against hers. She took his hand and he gripped back hard. She saw River's eyes flick down and notice the movement.

'Right,' said Eleven briskly. 'So everyone is acquainted. Ten, what are those creatures? They travel through time, yes?'

Ten shook his head rapidly, rather like a dog just coming from a swim, and then he grinned, returning to his former eagerness. 'See if you can tell.' He looked down at Rose and squeezed her hand. 'Sorry. The agreement...'

'I know,' she answered. 'It's all right.' She could see River look puzzled, but something prompted Rose to stay mum. She was beginning to like River, but her old habit of distrusting the Doctor's other companions hadn't quite gone. Also, River seemed different somehow. So, Rose did not tell her about the "No Humans" agreement between Ten and the NATS, and she simply walked back to the front of the barrow. She turned and, leaning against the last upright guard stones, she watched as Ten stood very still.

After a moment, the glowing beings appeared again, jostling eagerly around Ten's body. After a moment, Ten raised his arms and slowly wafted the beings towards Eleven and River. The cloud eddied and swirled around the two, sometimes clustering against them and sometimes hovering above.

Suddenly Rose saw Eleven's face light up with sudden understanding. River seemed fascinated but not comprehending.

'Oh my,' whispered Eleven. 'Oh my.'

The beings once again flowed back to Ten as if he were a magnet, and then, as Rose came forward, winked out of time.

'What?' asked River. 'What were they? I like them. They tickled... sort of tickled in time.'

'They're the NAT-' Rose began.

'Tessafage,' said Eleven raptly. 'They're from Gallifrey. Well, sort of. But I never knew they actually existed.' He clutched his hair, grinning, and turned 360 degrees on the spot. 'Tessafage! Here!'

'Yeah,' said Ten softly. 'They escaped the Time Lock.'

Eleven launched himself at Ten and enveloped him in a bear hug. At first startled, Ten responded and wrapped his arms around Eleven.

'Awww,' said River. 'If only I had a camera.'

'Yeah,' said Rose and flashed her a grin. But when the two Time Lords separated, she accosted Ten. 'Tessa...tess-what?'

'Tessafage,' he answered. 'What we called the NATS on Gallifrey.'

'NATS?' queried Eleven.

'Non-aware-' began Ten.

'Never mind,' interrupted Rose. 'Just a term.'

Eleven and Ten looked at her curiously, but River moved in by Rose's side.

'Tell me,' River said. 'Why did you hang back? The Tessafage disappeared whenever you came near them.'

'They won't come when there are humans,' Rose answered, 'though they know me and sort of put up with only me if I'm at a distance.' She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side. 'Which means... You're not human.'

'I am,' said River. 'But I'm also Time Lord.'

Both Rose and Ten stared at her.

'So that's why you could...' whispered Ten. He stopped as if stung and then cleared his throat.

'Could what?' asked River.

Ten gave her a small smile. 'Spoilers,' he said gently.

River shrugged. 'Fair enough.' She dug out her journal which was, Rose noticed, an old, battered book in the blue of the Tardis. Even the pressed design on the covers looked like the time-ship. River made a quick notation in it and closed it again. 'Avoiding spoilers should be easy. This is the first time I've met you, and I've never seen the Doctor with your face. You've seen me before but not me you.' She pondered this as Rose watched the two Doctors watching River uneasily. 'Judging from your reaction,' River mused, looking at Ten, 'you haven't seen me much, or else something big happened. Tell me, have you ever met me without Eleven here? After you split off from him, that is?'

'Spoilers,' Eleven reminded her.

Ten shrugged. 'He knows everything I know about you.'

'So...' mused Rose. 'You're all Time-Lords.' She stared at River. Where had she come from, she wondered. Ten had talked about Gallifrey being time-locked, and she knew that he and Eleven were supposed to be the last Time Lords. And yet, here was this woman whom Eleven clearly accepted as one of them.

'More or less,' said River cheerfully. She cocked a thumb at Eleven. 'Him more, and us-' and here she waved her hand back and forth between herself and Ten, '-less.' She gazed at Ten for a moment. 'That meta-crisis, though... Fascinating. The Doctor told me about it. So, what would you say you are to him... and to that human-Donna, am I right?'

'Yeah, Donna,' Ten said softly. Then he brightened. 'Well! Depends on how you see it. Experientially-experientially... good word. Think I'll keep it. Right! Experientially, I am the same as Eleven. Our identity is the same. Same person, same memories. You could call us brothers, or twins even. Well, not including what we've both done since. From the meta-crisis, though... I'd be the brother to Donna. I inherited some of her DNA, and she received my, er, and Eleven's Time Lord mind. Mind you, I'd be her very older brother since she... well...er... how old was she? Not sure. And... creationally, I'm the product of Eleven and Donna, so...their son. I don't like that though. Much rather think of us as brothers. Twins. I like twins.'

He stopped then, almost out of breath.

River batted her eyes. 'Whatever you say, Sweetie,' she said, amused. 'After you've sorted out who you are, just remember this. I know your real name.' She winked at him.

Ten blanched. 'R...right.' He nodded and swallowed convulsively.

'Real name?' asked Rose. She looked rapidly back and forth between them. Since when did the Doctor have a real name? He had always insisted that he was just "the Doctor" and nothing else. Her mind raced, trying to remember anything to the contrary. Ten would have told her, wouldn't he? She wasn't just a companion to him anymore. He had stayed in the alternate universe to be with her. He had offered himself to her. At least, that was what he had said. Why would he not have told her when Eleven had told River? She crossed her arms tightly.

Eleven coughed. 'Yes, well, time to get going.' He strode away, heading for the path out of the glade.

'Going where?' asked Rose, abandoning her posture and scurrying by his side.

'Big adventure,' said Eleven, waving his arms expansively. 'Travels. Team Tardis once again. Should be grand!'

'Er, Doctor,' whispered Rose, glancing back at River and Ten following them. 'He can't travel, remember?'

'Actually, he can,' he responded. 'We just have to stop by the Shadow Proclamation first and get their permission for the jaunt. I have a feeling they will be quite obliging.'

'Oh, really?' queried Ten from behind them. 'That's not my impression of them.'

'Just wait and see,' said Eleven. He winked at Rose. 'Come on! What could be better? Adventure awaits!' 

_To be continued_


	2. Travelling Papers

**Chapter 2:** _Travelling Papers_

They only stopped by the house long enough, at Ten's insistence, to retrieve the now baked scones, still warm from the oven and slightly burnt around the edges, and jam and clotted cream.

'You're brilliant,' he crowed to Rose as he quickly slathered one of the scones with cream and jam, and then followed the others out and to the Tardis. He ate it rapidly, almost cramming it in as he eagerly reached for the open blue door. The hand that had held the scone was still smeared with the jam and cream, but his other caressed the wood.

And then, as he crossed the threshold and gazed over the interior, he calmed and a soft smile appeared.

'Ah,' he murmured. 'Home again.'

'Close the door, would you?' called Eleven, already circling around the rotor, pushing buttons. He looked up then and stood still. 'Ah. Right. Welcome back.'

Rose closed the door as Ten dreamily wandered up the steps. Absentmindedly licking his jammy fingers, he circles around the console. With his clean hand, he reached up and stroked the rotor.

Rose sat on one of the jump-seats and watched him. She noticed River watching too with a smile and an odd expression on her face. Understanding? Sympathy? Recognition?

Ten stopped finally and turned to Eleven. 'She feels different,' he said, almost accusingly.

'M-hmm?' Eleven leaned against the railing and crossed his arms. 'How so?'

Ten pondered this. 'Not different,' he said at last. 'Same. But more so. Stronger. Clearer.' He paused. 'Closer.'

'Almost as if she could talk but can't, quite?' queried Eleven.

Ten pounced on this. 'Yes!'

Eleven grinned. 'Yeah.' he jumped up and crossed over to the console, beside Ten. 'Here. I think it's only fair.' He reached out and lightly touched Ten's temple. Ten frowned slightly but then his face relaxed and he waited patiently.

To Rose's surprise, it was only a few seconds later when Eleven removed his hand. However, Ten's demeanour had changed drastically. Almost trembling, his hands caressed the controls.

'She's really...' He swallowed almost convulsively and was silent. After a moment, he spoke again with a catch in his voice. '"Idris"... This is why you think it's safe for me to travel with her now.'

Eleven nodded. Even his eyes seemed suspiciously bright. 'She was never random, after all. She won't put you in danger.'

'I think it's show and tell,' whispered River. 'First the Tessafage, now this.'

Rose jumped. She hadn't noticed River come up beside her. 'Yeah,' she managed. 'Though I have no idea what's going on.'

River smiled, but before she had time to answer, Eleven pivoted on his foot to face them as well as Ten.

'Right, then,' he said, suddenly cheerful. 'Thing is-we have a planet to save. It's about to fall apart and we're going to stop it. Everyone game?'

A chorus of 'yes' met his declaration and he pulled on a lever. The Tardis lurched.

'Off we go!' he shouted.

~o~O~o~

The Tardis landed with a bone-jarring thump. _Some things never change_, thought Rose as she hauled herself upright off the floor.

'You do have two other Time Lords here who know how to fly the Tardis,' River said. 'No need to shake her around.'

'I know,' said Eleven, nettled.

'He doesn't like to share,' River said to Rose. 'A boy with his favourite toy.' Ten caught her comment and grinned ruefully.

'Yeah,' said Rose. 'I know.'

'So,' said Eleven loudly. 'Ten just has to go and get his travelling papers and we're all set.' He waved at Ten dismissively. 'Off you go. And, er, River, you know what to do.'

Rose stood up. 'Aren't you coming?' she asked. 'Won't they, er, want to make sure you'll bring him back on time or something?'

Eleven's shoulders slumped slightly and he looked at River.

'He can't,' said River. 'He's dead.'

'What?' cried Rose. 'Really? Or is this some Time Lord thing?'

Ten cocked his head, frowning.

'Well,' said Eleven a little carelessly. 'Not really dead. I mean, I'm here-in the flesh, so-to-speak. Though I'm not Flesh. At all. I assure you of that. But I am dead, and I have to be sure I stay that way.'

Rose crossed her arms. 'You're not making any sense.'

'I killed him,' said River.

'Literally or figuratively?' asked Ten.

River smirked.

'Both.' Eleven harrumphed. 'Sort of. At different times. Nevertheless, since her last attempt-which she isn't responsible for, nor was the first, I'll have you know-it has been necessary to let the universe believe I'm dead.'

'All right,' said Ten slowly. 'How long ago did this happen?'

'Years ago for me,' said River. 'Finished my prison sentence though, so I don't have to go undercover any more.'

'A month ago for me,' said Eleven.

'All right,' said Ten. He grabbed Eleven's hand and raised it to his temple. 'Come on. I can tell this would take too long to recount otherwise.'

Eleven pulled his hand away. 'Sorry. Not this time, I think. This one's between River and myself.'

Ten paused, but then he nodded. 'Yeah... I see. All right.'

'As far as the Shadow Proclamation, and the rest of the universe, is concerned,' Eleven said, 'River now owns the Tardis. She is your... er... supervisor for this trip.'

Now Ten looked shaken, but River swiftly linked her arm through his just as she had done with Rose.

'Just for show,' she said.

'I don't get it,' interrupted Rose. 'If the Doctor is dead, wouldn't the Doctor-Ten-have the Tardis? Why would River have it?'

'I think,' said Ten slowly, 'that they are married.' He turned to Eleven. 'You are, aren't you.'

'Yeah,' said Eleven.

'Married?' echoed Rose in disbelief.

'She knew my name,' said Ten. 'My real name. I always knew that she would have to have married me at some point in the future. Er... or him rather. It seems it's happened.'

'Married?' Rose leaned against the rail uncertainly. 'I didn't know Time Lords... er... got married. Thought that was a... stupid ape tradition.' Her mind whirled. He was over a thousand years old. Ten was almost there. Had they ever been married before?

'I never-' began Ten.

'When did I say that?' demanded Eleven with an injured air.

River looked back and forth at all three in turn, pensive.

'Well, you never actually said it,' mumbled Rose. 'But I thought... maybe you were above all that sort of thing...'

'No, no,' said Ten earnestly. He ran his hand through his hair. 'Not at all. It's just that... well... never mind.'

'Oh.' Rose looked away. 'Yeah. Well, time to get your travelling papers, like Eleven said.'

'Er, right.' Ten looked at her for a moment, frowning slightly. But when she didn't look at him, he turned away. 'Best get this over with.' He stuck his hands in his pockets and moved towards the door.

River followed, briefly looking back at Rose. 'You coming?'

'Yeah,' said Rose and she followed them out the door.

~o~O~o~

Rose looked around her. The hall was grand, much bigger than the hallway where the Tardis had parked for the trial. This place was as clean and sterile as the other, but somehow only the central area was lit clearly. The Tardis stood on a white floor in the centre of what looked like a 30-foot ring of what looked like futuristic computer stations. Another 15 feet outside the circle, the walls almost disappeared into the dark. Behind each of the stations, white-clad beings of different races watched them.

She looked up and gasped. Overhead, the ceiling also felt distant, blending into the dark, but hovering high above the interior of the circle drifted a myriad planets. Countless sizes and textures, they drifted around stars as if performing a dance of eons. Rose suspected that Ten could see all sorts of patterns and significance in their movements and positions. The planets glowed in many different colours rather like globular jewels. It seemed to her that if the Proclamation dimmed the lighting that kept the area within the circle so bright, the jewelled array above them would be breathtaking and rich. Instead, the beauty of the display seemed to be kept in check and somehow constrained to being utilitarian.

She slipped her hand in Ten's and she felt his fingers squeeze hers. River stood on the other side of Ten, looking all around her. Together, they watched as three beings came forward into the circle. Rose recognized two of them: one was a Judoon, and the other was a humanoid with slicked-down blue hair wearing a white lab coat. The third was someone new-a male humanoid with yellow eyes and frizzy, curly hair clipped close to the head.

'State your request,' said the new being.

'Are you the Architect?' River asked instead.

'I am,' the Architect replied. 'State your request.'

River raised her eyebrow, but merely responded with, 'I wish to take the Doctor known as "Ten" on a trip in both space and time. There's an emergency on the planet Virrukoi and the Doctor's experience with and knowledge of Time is necessary.'

As she spoke, the display of planets zoomed inward to focus on one star system with one particular planet in the center. A pulsing halo of red surrounded it, looking for all the world like an alert sign.

'We are aware of the emergency,' said the Architect loftily. 'It is new and escalating quickly. Very well. Your request is granted. Because of the nature of the problem, we agree: the Doctor known as "Ten" will be a valuable asset to any solution. You had better move quickly. Already there has been movement from raiding parties towards Virrukoi. The planet is rich in boolium and pirates have wanted to mine it for a long time. Some of them already have.'

'Boolium?' asked Ten. 'That's-'

'We are sending ships to patrol the space around the star system,' interrupted the Architect, still looking only at River. 'Be aware that the inhabitants are xenophobic. They have shown distrust to any visiting aliens. At their level of technology, they can manage rudimentary space travel but they choose not to. Only minutes ago, however, they sent out a distress call, so that will help you explain your presence. If you detect any signs of alien sabotage or profiteering, or you have any need of our Judoon warriors, notify us at once.'

River made a face. 'I doubt we'll need them, but thanks for telling us.'

The Architect nodded with the slightest of movements but said nothing. Instead he brought up his hand and beckoned forth the humanoid with blue hair.

'Remove outer garments,' ordered the Judoon, looking at Ten.

Ten shrugged out of his coat and jacket. Rose held out her hands and he gave the clothing to her. He loosened his tie.

'Kneel,' thundered the Judoon.

Ten took a deep breath and began to comply but wasn't quick enough. The Judoon forced him down, massive hands on Ten's shoulders.

'Hey!' shouted River and she started forward.

'Leave it,' snapped Ten. River subsided, scowling.

The humanoid stood behind Ten and pulled the collar of his white shirt down so that the back of his neck was exposed. The humanoid then brought out a gun-like device. It was smaller than what Rose remembered from the trial, though she rather thought that as this one was only a chip-reader, it didn't need to be as large. Nevertheless, she hated the thing. She wanted to touch Ten, take his hand maybe, but she knew that wouldn't be tolerated, by either the Proclamation or even Ten himself perhaps. His back was ramrod straight.

The humanoid touched the device to Ten's neck, but the Architect leaned over and murmured something. The humanoid looked at him a little startled, but merely adjusted a control, took a moment to locate the chip underneath Ten's skin and then pressed the nozzle firmly against him and pressed the trigger.

A blue shimmer suddenly flowed from the nozzle into Ten's body. He jerked and gasped.

'What?' cried Rose. Ten's hands were on the floor. He still knelt, but he was slumped over. Rose dropped his coat and jacket and she knelt beside him, putting her arms around him. He was breathing hard.

'What the hell are you doing?' raged River. 'There was no need for that.'

'He is a convicted criminal,' the Architect informed her loftily. 'He committed one of the worst crimes in the universe. It isn't our business to make things comfortable for him. Exile on his favourite planet is much too permissive in my opinion.'

'So you torture him when you can. Is that it?' she shouted.

'It is not torture,' he responded calmly. 'It is a reminder.'

Ten got to his feet. 'Let's go,' he said shortly.

Rose picked up his jacket and coat with trembling hands, but as she did so, the Architect spoke again to River.

'Given the nature of the emergency, the permission entered includes time travel on the planet Virrukoi and only that planet due to the time fractures and direct need in order to solve that situation only. He may not travel off the planet or out of its solar system. Once the situation has been resolved, he must return here directly to end the trip and be returned to Earth. However, after one Earth week, if you do not bring him back here to close the trip, the Judoon will be sent to monitor his progress with the planet. If there is no reasonable excuse for his absence, or he breaks the conditions I have just outlined, they will be instructed to hunt him down and bring him back in chains. If he, or you, resist this, he will be summarily executed on the spot. Is this clear?'

'Perfectly,' muttered River. She followed Ten and Rose into the Tardis.

_To be continued_


	3. Falling apart

_Disclaimer:_ This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All Doctor Who characters within belong to the BBC. All other characters are fictitious. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.

* * *

**Chapter 3:** _Falling Apart_

River stormed up the stairs to the console and, turning around, hit the railing hard. 'Bastard,' she fumed. She gripped the railing with both hands. Ten and Rose followed her up the steps, Ten still rubbing his neck.

Eleven looked at River, then Ten and back to River again. 'What happened?'

'They tortured him,' said Rose. She breathed deeply to calm herself. Her trembling slowly subsided.

'Doesn't matter,' said Ten. He took his jacket from Rose and put it on. 'What's the adventure? What are we doing now?'

Eleven paused, looking at Ten, but something passed between them and he nodded reluctantly. 'Right! Something or someone has fractured the planet's time. Badly. The cause, as far as I can tell, is at the slowest part of the fractures.'

Eleven brought up a schematic on the monitor which looked to Rose like one of those maps that showed a lot of squiggly lines. The only thing was, these lines were rippling slightly, like a shimmer.

'That looks like one of those maps that hikers use,' Rose said. 'You know, shows how high things are.'

'Topographical map,' agreed Ten, coming up behind her. 'Shows elevation. Though this...' He turned to Eleven with a look of alarm. 'These are... _temporal_? Temporal fault lines!'

'Yeah.' Eleven's voice was somber.

Ten leaned across the console and pointed to an area where the wavering lines formed a sudden cluster of concentric circles. 'And here?' he asked in a hushed voice.

'The epicentre,' Eleven said. 'As far as I can tell.'

'We think,' said River, 'that the cause of the fracturing is from there. The time differentials concentrate there and it's the slowest spot on the planet.'

'Why is it happening?' asked Rose.

'Good question,' answered Eleven. 'Haven't the foggiest.'

She tilted her head, studying the map. 'So we take the Tardis in and find out. Right?'

'No,' said Eleven. 'I'm not taking the Tardis into that.'

'Why not? Time ship, yeah?'

'Not for that,' said Ten gently. 'That's... that's unnatural. The Tardis travels freely on her own through the Vortex. To be stuck there with those fluctuations, not knowing the cause and with those shifts and stresses... No. I agree with Eleven. She must be kept away from that.'

'She'll have her own job,' said Eleven. 'We will return to the precise moment I got the mayday.'

Ten raised an eyebrow. 'Crossing your own timeline?'

River laughed. 'No, he isn't. As soon as he got the message, he jumped back in time to collect you two. We're going to jump back forward again to rejoin that moment, in place on the planet.'

Ten nodded slowly. 'Yeah. Good call.' He peered closely at the monitor again and he shuddered.

'Why?' asked Rose. 'What's going to happen?'

Ten turned to face her. 'The planet is going to tear itself apart... and it won't take long. An hour, maybe. Less.'

'An hour?' spluttered Rose. 'How's it gonna do that?'

'From the orbit and rotation,' said River.

Rose shrugged. 'Yeah. Okay... I think.'

'Think of an orange, a peeled orange,' said Ten earnestly. He dug into his pocket. 'Ah! Old habits die hard. Even when they're not my own.' He brought out a satsuma and he peeled it rapidly, stuffing the bits of peel back into his pocket. 'Imagine it's the planet orbiting around... around...' He looked around him.

River obligingly held up her hand in a fist between them.

'Ah! Orbiting around its star.' He slowly moved the satsuma around River's fist. 'Problem is... each of these sections,' and here he pointed to the satsuma's segments, 'are travelling at different speeds, but averaging at speeds around 100,000 kilometres per hour or, for you, 62,000 miles per hour. This one is faster, and this one is slower. The faster one will pull ahead, and the slower one will fall behind.' He split the segments apart and, holding them in both hands, moved them at varying rates around River's fist.

'But won't... won't gravity or something hold it together?' objected Rose.

Eleven shook his head. 'No. They're slower or faster because of Time. Not because of any physical properties. Gravity can't hold against that.'

'And it's not just the orbit,' added Ten. 'As River said, it's the rotation.' He shuffled the sections back together until it looked spherical again and rotated it slowly. 'This section is rotating faster through time. The section next to it isn't. So...' He mashed the first segment against the second which, in turn, squished the segment next to it. Juice dribbled down his fingers. 'Of course, without the juice. But with all sorts of other nasty effects.' He opened his fingers and the sections flopped outwards, lying haphazardly across his palms with the squished sections empty of all but the pulpy skin.

Rose shivered. 'In an hour?'

'Yeah,' said Ten.

Rose picked up one of the satsuma sections from Ten's palm. 'The Architect said there was boolium-a lot of it-on the planet. And... and... raiding parties. Maybe aliens are behind this.'

'Move in and mine the chunks after the planet's fallen apart?' asked River.

'Yeah.' Rose put the section back on Ten's palm.

'Possibly.' Ten frowned. 'I hope not.'

'If so, and even if not,' said Eleven, 'this is where the Tardis comes in. I'm going to land her in the largest, most stable section of the planet which, fortunately, is still aligned with normal space-time. We can create a temporal shell which will keep the planet's time whole, relative to the space around it.'

'So... the orbit will be safe,' guessed Rose.

'Exactly!'

'What about the... the rotation,' she asked.

'That's the tricky one,' said Eleven. 'I'm going to try to stabilize the core of the planet. Don't ask me how. Besides, it's going to be a pretty flimsy patchwork. But it will at least buy us time: a day if we're lucky. One thing I can't do at all is to actually alter the time differentials. The segments will still be altered, certainly at the surface. I can't do anything about that.'

Ten stared at him. 'You think the Tardis can do that? You'd be stretching her to the absolute limit, stressing all her systems.'

'Which is why we get to have all the fun,' said River jauntily. 'He'll have to stay behind helping the Tardis maintain the shell.'

'And this is where you come in,' said Eleven. 'You and your heightened time-sense. I'll land the Tardis as close as I dare. Luckily it's only a few kilometres through that cluster of differentials to the epicentre. You'll have to go in through all that and find out what's causing the fractures.'

Ten nodded. Absentmindedly, he ate what was left of the satsuma and started to lick his palms.

'And what do we do?' asked Rose. She looked at River.

'We'll stay in the largest section, with the bulk of the population. If aliens are responsible, we'll see plenty of action.' River's eyes gleamed.

'Don't blow anything up,' admonished Eleven. 'And don't cause trouble.'

Rose looked at the map and then at Ten who was now sucking on his juice-coated fingers She shook her head. 'The people are going to be terrified. Their world is falling apart. Aliens or not, trouble is gonna find us.'

'Right,' said River. She picked up a leather belt with a gun holster from under the console. 'We'll be prepared.'

Rose's jaw dropped open. She closed it hastily and whirled around to look at Eleven. Ten also stared at him, eyes wide. 'Guns?' she whispered disbelievingly. 'On the Tardis?'

Eleven shrugged shamefacedly.

'Now, now,' chided River. 'Look. Stun setting. See? Defensive purposes only. Designed to keep a Time-Lord's feathers unruffled.'

'Stun,' murmured Rose. 'That would come in handy. Doesn't actually injure, yeah?'

'Not a bit,' soothed River. 'Wake up with bit of a headache, maybe.'

'Do you have another one?'

'Rose,' began Ten.

'We're gonna need protection if we're going to go out on the surface,' said Rose decisively. 'You're going to be busy, and I know I don't have your gob to talk people out of doing crazy things. Stun gun? Sounds like just the thing.'

'Good,' said River. 'I do have another one... or two. Come on. Let them sort the Tardis out. You and me? We're going to have girl talk and I'm going to teach you how to use this.'

'Sounds like a plan.' Rose looked at Ten and Eleven who were both gaping at herself and River. Well, Ten was gaping, and Eleven was looking also just the tiniest bit resigned. She grinned. 'All right. You boys keep the home fires burning. We girls are gonna go talk strategy.'

~o~O~o~

'The nice thing about these,' River said, 'is that the beam is focussed by refraction through a crystal. So, no recoil. You can shoot one-handed if you want, though a two-hand grip is always better to steady yourself.'

The two women were in a plain, medium-sized room which seemed as if it could double as a squash court. On the floor by River's feet were several brightly coloured balls, slightly larger than a fist.

Rose turned the gun over in her hand and hefted it. 'And this is the lowest stun setting?' she asked, fingering the controls.

'That's it,' River confirmed. 'The only way the Tardis will tolerate target practice inside her.' She knelt down, picked up two of the balls and threw them into the air. Instead of falling, they hovered briefly before they started to move around through the air. She brought up her gun and effortlessly hit one with a casually-aimed beam.

Rose realized her mouth was open. She shut it with a snap. 'I'm impressed,' she said.

'Don't be,' said River. 'I was trained as an assassin as a child. I don't recommend it.'

'Oh.' Rose brought up her own gun. She looked sideways at River, but the expression on her face was set. Rose looked away and instead took aim, holding the gun in both hands. She squeezed off a shot and grazed the other ball on the side.

'Now I'm impressed,' said River. 'You've obviously had training.'

'Torchwood, alternate universe,' said Rose. 'Long story. Haven't used my skills since I've returned. The Doctor hates guns. I don't really blame him, but...'

'Tell me about it!' said River. 'Mind you,' she said reflectively, 'it's a good philosophy and it works for him... them.'

Two more balls hovered and both women shot them square on. They looked at each other and laughed.

'Snap!' they chorused.

'You know,' mused Rose, 'at first I thought I was going to hate you. Selfish. I know. But I don't. I thought... I don't know. You feel a bit more like a sister-and I hardly know you.'

'That makes sense. Since we are sisters.'

'Come again?' Rose lowered her gun.

River shrugged. 'The Doctors are brothers, same man, whatever. And we're married to them, or as good as. So, sisters-in-law at the very least. And who else has to keep those two in line? Solidarity. No-one else understands what we have to put up with.'

'Married,' murmured Rose. 'I didn't know the Doctor ever thought of that kind of thing.'

'You'd be surprised,' River commented. She picked up two more balls. 'He's the one who initiated it with me. Mind you, it was a bit of an emergency.' She fiddled with hidden controls on the balls and then threw them up in the air. They whizzed about, decidedly faster than the other two. 'Although..., we've been quite satisfied after.' She winked.

Rose started. 'Really?' Just at that moment a ball whizzed past her and she aimed and fired. The beam missed.

'Absolutely.' River smiled broadly and then shot her target almost as an afterthought. The ball dropped to the ground. She stopped then and looked at Rose with a concerned expression. 'You mean, you two haven't had sex?'

Rose's breath caught in her throat and her face felt hot. When she felt her breathing return to some semblance of normality, she spoke. 'We were going to talk strategy, yeah?' She pretended to check the gun's settings. 'Let's talk strategy then. Do you think any aliens are already on the planet we're going to?'

River looked at Rose for a fraction longer and then nodded. 'All right. Strategy it is.'

~o~O~o~

When they returned to the Console Room, River joined Eleven and immediately began tinkering alongside him with something on the panel. Ten was nowhere to be seen.

'Where is the Doctor?' asked Rose.

Eleven peered at her from around the rotor. 'Down below.' He returned to his work.

Rose looked down through the glass floor and saw a flicker of movement. 'Thanks.' She crossed over to the nearest set of steps, descended them and ducked under the edge of the platform. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, she laughed.

Ten sat in a swing suspended from the underside of the platform. Cables and wires coiled around and draped over him, festooning him in a bizarre, multicoloured nest. His long legs splayed out underneath, idly swinging back and forth, while he fiddled with wires in his hands, utterly enrapt and with a faint smile on his face.

'Having fun?' she asked.

He looked up and a broad grin spread over his face, wrinkling at the corners of his eyes. 'Yeah,' he said. He rocked back and forth and lovingly caressed the ropes holding him up. 'Swing!'

Rose poked him gently in his shoulders. 'Swing!' she echoed. 'Why didn't you have one in our Tardis?'

'This is our Tardis. She's the same.'

'Right. Yeah. I mean, the way she was when we were... Before.'

'Don't know,' he said. 'It's much more comfortable this way. No more crouching under the grating.'

'Doctor,' Rose said quietly, glancing up through the glass overhead. River and Eleven were taking animatedly, absorbed with whatever technological wizardry they were doing. She looked back at Ten. 'What's going on with River?'

Ten started and then went very still. 'What do you mean?'

'I saw how you were with her. Something happened when you first met, didn't it. And...back at the barrow, you said River knew your real name. You never told me you had a real name.'

Ten stilled and looked at her uncertainly. Rose continued. 'You know... The Doctor, the Master... I thought perhaps Time Lords just... just used titles or roles... or something.'

'No,' said Ten softly. 'That was my choice. It was necessary.'

'And later,' Rose added, 'you said you knew she'd marry you because she knew your name.'

'That's the only time I could ever tell anyone.'

'Why? Why can't you tell me? What's so bad about using your own name?'

Ten hesitated. 'I can't. I mustn't. It would be...' He stopped and looked down at the floor past his dangling feet. 'I just can't. I'm sorry. Only marriage. Only then. And-'

'It's a good thing, then,' interrupted Rose, 'neither of us have ever wanted to get married. Saves you from telling me.' Her voice sounded bitter even to her own ears.

'Rose,' said Ten and he reached out to touch her, but she stepped back. 'I'm so sorry. I never intended-'

'But you did! It's you, your culture. Your choice. And what is it with River. Is she married to you or not? What happened when you first met her?'

Ten's hand fell back by his side.

'I saw how you reacted when you saw her! And whatever it is, she doesn't even know!'

'I'm sorry. I can't...'

'You don't trust me to keep your secrets?' Her voice rose.

'No!' Ten's voice was strangled. 'No,' he repeated a little more quietly. 'Just... just... right now, it would be too difficult-'

'All right, you two?' Eleven called out. 'It's time to go. Ten, have you joined all the couplings?'

'Yeah,' Ten called back. He hopped out of the swing but hovered. 'Rose,' he whispered, 'I want to tell you, but-'

'It's time to go,' Rose reminded him. She turned and ducked back out from under the glass overhang. Behind her, she heard Ten begin to say, 'No, Rose, you need-' but she kept on moving resolutely forward.

They all reassembled around the console. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose could see Ten looking at her unhappily.

'Right!' said Eleven. 'Everyone knows their jobs?'

'We girls together. Find out if there's any alien interference or looting,' said River. She patted her gun fondly.

'I go in and find the cause,' said Ten, still looking at Rose. 'And stop it.'

'Good,' said Eleven. 'Any references to Ten and myself should only be by our numbers. I can't have it known I'm still alive, and Ten could still be recognized from the trial, even on this planet if there are any alien visitors. Permission to travel to not, there might be those who will want to turn him in to the Judoon. All right! Here we go!'

His hands danced over the controls and then pulled back on the lever. The other three, from long practice, braced themselves and the Tardis jolted into the Vortex.

As he brought her out of the Vortex, however, she began to shudder.

'Come on,' cajoled Eleven, and Ten and River joined him, making adjustments. 'You can do it.'

'What's wrong?' shouted Rose over the noise. She clung tightly to the rail. The juddering increased.

'She doesn't like it,' River shouted back. 'To be this close to that many time fractures-'

'Hold on!' yelled Ten.

The Tardis landed with a thump, a sideways skid and a whine. The juddering stopped, although the time rotor continued to move fitfully. Smoke billowed up from around the rotor. An acrid smell wafted through the console room.

_To be continued_


	4. The Red Line

**Disclaimer: **This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All Doctor Who characters within belong to the BBC. All other characters are fictitious. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.

* * *

**Chapter 4:** _The Red Line_

'No, no, no,' yelped Ten and he almost danced around the console pulling apart couplings that fizzed and crackled under his fingers.

Eleven's hands were a blur over the controls, and even River was busily, frantically doing something on the other side of the console.

Rose straightened from her spot at the railings and stepped forward. Then she paused, sat down on the jump seat and twisted her fingers into knots. She knew that any offer of help would be more of a distraction than an aide. The three Time Lords wove complicated paths around each other in an unplanned but elegant rescue mission. She, however, had no idea what to do or even where to start. She scuffed her trainer on the floor.

Finally, Eleven twisted a knob with a flourish. 'There! That ought to hold her for a while.'

'But for how long,' asked River. Her voice was heavy. 'You know we can't take off with her in this condition. Not until those fractures mend.'

'Right,' said Eleven. 'Which is why you lot need to get to work. If we can't mend the fractures, we might have a chance at dematerializing, but it's dicey. I've landed her as close as I dare to where the fractures cluster.' He looked at Ten. 'Go! Get out there. I've established the shell, but I won't be able to hold it for long. Back in 6 hours, all of you, finished or not. Before then, even, if you can manage it.'

'Yeah,' said Ten. 'But if I need more time, you get Rose and River out of here.'

'Wait!' said Rose, but such a sharp look passed between Ten and Eleven that Rose fell silent. It seemed as if there were a challenge between the two Doctors.

Finally, Eleven turned away grudgingly. 'All right,' he muttered. 'Get going, all of you. We don't have much time. Or, rather, more than we can handle.'

'Come on!' said River. She ran down to the door, opened it and looked out. 'Ugh.' She looked back. 'Brace yourselves. It isn't pretty out here.'

Rose picked up her holster and strapped it securely around her hips, checking that the gun was secure and still on the stun setting. She came up beside River. She could feel Ten standing just behind her and knew that he was carefully not touching her-giving her space. She winced, but resolutely looked forward.

They exited the Tardis. The first thing Rose noticed was the smell; acrid smoke wafted on the breeze, with something indefinable, but sinister, underlying it.

The edges of a city lay several miles away to the north. Towers rose beyond. Isolated fires burned. The muted sounds of sirens came across the distance. Where they were standing, however, was verdant land not unlike the hills and fields of England, though the green seemed a little brighter. More saturated. A few scattered dark stone dwellings, lay close to them but all seemed deserted.

'Where is everyone?' Rose asked.

'Scared away,' River answered somberly. She pointed to the right.

Rose realized, with a start, that bodies lay on the ground. Ten ran towards them. She followed.

'Were they killed by aliens?' She was halfway to the bodies.

Ten knelt by the nearest one, but still a few feet away. A line on the ground separated him from the body. 'I'm sorry,' he whispered. 'I'm so sorry.' He looked back. 'Don't come any closer!' he said urgently.

'Why?' asked Rose. 'What's wrong? What killed them?'

'Time,' said Ten tersely. 'Look at the ground. See that line?'

'Yeah.' Rose inched closer and peered at it. 'Everything's redder on the other side.' She looked up. A blood-red sun hung in the sky. 'Even the sky. The air...'

'Time-shifted. Infrared.' Ten stood up. 'This is one of the fractures. Everything's slower on the other side of that line. Don't touch it. Don't even get close to it, or what happened to these people will happen to you.'

Rose looked down at the humanoid body. One arm still lay across the time fracture. The colour of the skin didn't seem very unlike a human's. On the other side, however, it and the rest of the body was mottled an angry red.

'Time is energy,' said Ten softly. 'Well, it isn't, but if it helps, think of it like that. Crossing into a slower time unprotected... Suddenly a lot more energy in his cells compared to the new slower time around him? He boiled alive.'

Rose gasped and shuddered. Ten moved swiftly to her and held her close. She buried her face in his shoulder, their earlier quarrel forgotten.

'It would have been instant,' he said, stroking her hair. 'He wouldn't have felt it, or at least not long enough for him to think about it.'

'Oh, man, I hate this already,' muttered River. 'If someone did this on purpose, I'm going to make him pay.'

'Someone did.' Ten's voice was hard. 'This isn't natural. Couldn't have happened on its own. Someone created this.'

Rose raised her head. 'How are you going to cross the fractures? Won't they... boil you...? Can you... Because you're a Time Lord...?'

'No,' said Ten. 'The same thing would happen to me. But,' he said more cheerfully, and he held her at arms length, gazing at her both worried and comforting. 'I won't cross here. The fractures are fluctuating. I saw it on the scanner and I can feel it even here. The differentials are shifting through time and even aligning in places. I'll know when it's safe to cross.'

'Then we can go with you, yeah?'

'No,' he said softly. 'I need to move as fast as I can, and even when the boundaries align, there's a risk that they'll move out of phase quickly. I can react quickly, instinctively, but even the time it would take to tell you when to cross... and the closer I get to the epicenter, the closer the fractures will be. I can't risk you. I need to know you're safe.'

'Then go,' said Rose decisively. 'Go and save the day.' She kissed him on his lips, gave him a little push away from her and smiled softly. 'Go do what you do best.'

He nodded and scanned the fracture. 'There,' he pointed. A gap in the differential boundary several hundred yards closer to the city seemed to clear. No redness lay beyond. He began walking rapidly. 'Remember,' he said to both Rose and River as they followed beside him. 'Don't cross any of the fractures. Even when the colour looks the same on either side, you won't know when it'll shift again, and even the smallest shift will hurt you and you won't see the colour changing until it's too late. Don't cross, and don't let anyone else cross. Use those stun guns of yours if you have to.' He looked at River. 'You especially. You may be a Time Lord, but I can tell. You don't have the same time sense that even Eleven has. You don't have even the presence of a Time Lord. Just don't risk it. Stay safe.'

River nodded. 'I know. I won't. I promise.'

At that moment, the ground beneath their feet shuddered. Rose stumbled, pinwheeled her arms and regained her balance. She saw River rapidly adjusting her own stance. Ten merely shuffled his feet, swaying slightly.

'Earthquake!' she exclaimed. Then she frowned. 'No, not on Earth. What...?'

'Tremor,' said Ten. 'Don't worry. Eleven will keep the sections of the planet together for a day. But that's all he can promise. The planet is still trying to tear itself apart. You'll see damage from before we got here. Just don't do anything that a tremor can't interrupt!'

Both Rose and River nodded.

'Right then!' exclaimed Ten. 'Good luck.' He sprinted for the gap. 'Whoops! You've got company!'

Two inhabitants had come over the rise of a small hill. 'Stop!' they shouted, but Ten didn't slow down. 'You'll kill yourself!'

He reached the gap, hesitated and then swiftly stepped through. Already the fracture was fluctuating and soon the redness spread through and the dividing line was solid and sharply defined once more.

Rose and River approached the line cautiously. On the other side, like everything around him, Ten seemed darker, tinged in red. He moved as if swimming through treacle.

'Don't cross the line!' he repeated. His voice was odd, slower and much deeper. Tensing, he pivoting on one foot to begin to run, but it seemed to Rose as if she were watching him in some recording that had been slowed down. As he turned, the corners of his jacket flapped but something was off. They moved slowly. His hair bounced almost languidly from his sudden movement, and his gangly limbs stretched out into a slow sprint.

'Factor of two, maybe. One point six at the very least,' murmured River, but she turned around to face the newcomers.

'He's not dead!' gasped the taller of the inhabitants.

Rose turned around. Two beings stood a few yards from them. They were humanoid with roughly the same proportions and colouring, but their skin held a very slight sheen of luminescence. Both of them had short, tufty, light brown hair.

'He knows what he's doing,' she said. 'He's safe.'

'But no-one can cross the lines!' cried the other, distressed.

'He knows Time,' said River. 'He can tell when it's safe to cross.'

'Then get him back!' shouted the first. 'We need him to lead us to the Prime Council. They are trapped in the slower places.'

'That's where he's going,' Rose told them. 'He's going to fix the problem.' She turned back to watch Ten. The inhabitants and River also paused and looked.

Ten still ran, but he had only covered part of the ground Rose would have expected. His long legs were fully outstretched in each pace, but it seemed as if his body hovered briefly each time before a foot touched the ground. Far off through the reddish air, Rose could see what looked like an almost impenetrable wall of dark, murky red. Ten was running straight for it.

'Is that another fracture?' she asked River.

River nodded. 'Yes. We won't be able to see him once he crosses that, or barely. Like a shadow. We can't see through another layer of red-shift.'

'But if it's slower again, it's gonna take forever,' objected Rose. 'He's already moving slowly and he has to cross a lot of those lines.'

'Exactly,' said River. 'Which is,' and here she turned to look at the inhabitants, 'why he couldn't stay to talk to you. He had to get in there as fast as he could.'

'But he won't know where to go,' said the shorter of the inhabitants. 'The Prime Council-'

'Doesn't matter,' interrupted Rose. 'He's going to fix the problem, not talk to your government.'

'But... but...how will he know where to go?'

'He'll know,' said Rose. 'He senses time. He'll just... know.' She smiled gently at the worried being. 'My name is Rose. We've come to help you. This is River.'

'Hi,' said River.

'I am called Velki,' the being responded. She nervously looked at Ten in the distance and tugged on her bushy hair.

The other inhabitant had both hands wound in her hair, clutching fitfully. 'I am Vant.'

'Velki and Vant. Got it,' said River. 'So, why is your planet chopped up into time-bits?'

'We don't know,' wailed Vant. She was shivering, and Rose wondered if she was in some state of shock.

'The Prime Council is trapped in the slower areas,' said Velki. She had stopped tugging on her hair, but now her hands were making complicated movements together which Rose rather thought of as _wringing_. 'We have not heard anything from them. Nobody can get in or out. Not alive, at any rate. Communications are useless. Nothing crosses the lines that we can understand. Some people have held up handwritten signs, or talked too slow or too fast, but it's all slow and nobody knows what's going on.'

'Did these... lines kill a lot of people?' asked Rose gently.

Vant clutched her hair even tighter. 'So many. And others tried to cross and were frozen.'

'Frozen?' Rose looked at River. 'I thought he said "boiled".'

'The other direction,' said River. 'Slower to faster. Energy is heat. Suddenly half the energy inside your body? Opposite effect.'

Rose shivered. 'I'm sorry,' she said to the two. 'I hope no-one is trying anymore.'

'No,' said Velki. 'Except your friend.'

'The Doc...Ten,' said Rose, catching herself. 'His name is Ten.'

River scanned the area around them, hands shading her eyes. 'Where is everyone?'

'They have left,' said Velki. 'They do not want to be near the lines, and they dare not approach the bodies in case the lines move and catch them.'

'Have they moved?' Rose looked at the fracture in both directions. Bodies seemed to lie consistently on either side of the divide.

'No,' admitted Vant. 'But they change. Someone tried to cross when the colour looked normal, but he was too slow. He... he...'

'It's okay,' Rose said quickly. 'I understand.'

'Most of them have gone to the city,' said Velki. 'They hope people will know what is going on.'

'Then that's where we need to be,' River said. 'Have you been there since the time fractures began?'

'When did they begin?' asked Rose.

Velki looked back and forth between the two and settled on Rose first. 'An hour ago.' She looked at River. 'No, we have not. For a short time, there was still communications with the city but that has disappeared.'

'Satellites,' mused River. 'They will have moved across the fractures. The metal would lose integrity. They'd disintegrate.'

'Satellites?' Rose instinctively looked up and then shook her head. 'The fractures go that high?'

'Hard to tell.' River too peered up at the sky. 'Probably. But even if they haven't disintegrated yet, the signal would still have to go through the differentials at angles like a prism. Any data would be scrambled and difficult to reconstruct.'

'All right,' said Rose. 'Let's go. Vant and Velki, can you help us? We don't know your planet and any information would help us.'

Vant hesitated but Velki shook her head. 'Yes. I'll come.'

Rose nodded, but caught herself and shook her head instead. 'Thanks. You're teaching us your culture already. Does this mean "No"?' She nodded.

Velki shook her head. 'Yes.' She reached up a hand and tugged at her hair as she nodded her head. 'This is stronger. Each way.'

'Thank you,' said Rose. _Shaking her head meant 'no', and nodding meant 'yes'_, she thought. And tugging her hair meant emphasis. 'Let's go,' she said and she tugged her hair.

Vant giggled. Velki nodded her head in negation. 'Only do that when you're not speaking. If you are speaking, it means something else...'

'Oh.' Face aflame, Rose set out resolutely towards the city and the others followed her in silence.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

They walked part of the way and then found a vehicle, not unlike a jeep from Earth, with keys still in it. A body lay next to a time-fracture not far from the road. They got into the jeep and Velki drove them the rest of the way to the city in silence. Occasionally, tremors shook the road, but they were not strong enough to pose any problems to Velki. She continued to drive, hands firmly gripping the wheel.

At one point, they saw a great scar in the ground and scattered, twisted pieces of scorched metal, occasional less-scorched pieces gleaming silver in the sun. Air above the mess rippled with radiated heat.

'That answers the question about the satellites,' murmured River

'Where is everyone?' asked Rose, looking through the windows on the left side. 'It's deserted.'

'They all ran away from the lines and tall buildings that might fall,' said Vant. 'Far away.'

'And a lot are over here,' muttered River. She jerked her thumb towards her window, on the right side of the jeep.

Rose craned her neck and saw, through River's window, an increasing line of bodies by the time fracture the jeep was travelling alongside. The time fracture lead straight to the city. She shuddered. 'Yeah. I'd want to get away from here too.'

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

They reached the city. The transition from countryside to tall buildings came almost immediately. Rose looked around as they drove further in. There was a scattering of debris from signs and overhangs, but the effect of the red line itself that made her gasp. Buildings stood bisected by the red line, the portions shifted as if sliced through by a hot knife through butter. The sharpness of the edges looked wrong. There was no crumbling or tearing. Had any humans been sliced through like that, she wondered. Her stomach clenched.

The buildings themselves were mostly intact, although some decorative facings had crumbled under the stresses of the planet's tremors. It was not bad, but it was enough to make the roads difficult to navigate. They hid the jeep as best they could in a back alley behind a fence.

'Right,' said Rose, as they cautiously made their way out onto a street. The Tardis had stabilized the planet. Already she had sensed the tremors lessening in frequency and intensity. She looked up at the buildings uneasily, wondering if any more debris would come raining down on them. However, River seemed to move confidently into the street, and Rose already knew that River would have assessed the risk for herself with far more scientific understanding than Rose herself.

Reassured, she moved into the centre of the street. The roads were all laid out in a grid pattern aligned with the compass points. Velki had driven the jeep northward into the city, so Rose oriented herself so she faced northward herself, looking further in amongst the skyscrapers. The buildings were mostly rounded at the top, and entrances at ground level protruded slightly from the face of their structures. Colourful mosaics lined the sides of the buildings and over the rounded tops. An edifice opposite the alley had a particularly elaborate mural on its side with swirls of green, orange and red. Rose memorized the art as a landmark to find the jeep. 'Where to now?'

'I know someone who always has much information,' said Velki. 'We can go to him. I hope he is still alive!'

'But that is further into the city,' objected Vant. She looked around nervously. 'There is violence there. We will be in danger.'

'You're in danger anywhere,' said River.

Vant gripped her hair with both hands. 'Yes, but maybe the buildings will fall on us. We are too close. We-'

Her next words were lost, for at that moment, several sounds of pounding footsteps came to them. Around the corner appeared more inhabitants, running at a speed that surprised Rose. As soon as they caught sight of her and River, they swerved and headed straight for them.

'We're here to help,' yelled Rose.

The runners did not slow down and within seconds the two groups collided. Arms grasped at Rose and the others, and she fought to free herself. 'We want to help,' she shouted as she struggled to free herself.

But suddenly two of the assailants fell to the ground stunned, and the others retreated, staring at them. River stood with her gun raised.

'We're here to help,' River said loudly. 'But any one of you attacks us again and I will stun you. Got it?'

'You are not Allack!' shouted one of them. 'You must leave! They said any other aliens are dangerous.'

Rose noticed many of the assailants were wringing their hands much like Vant had done, or were pulling at their short, thick hair.

'What is Allack?' she shouted back. 'Does that mean "alien"?'

'"The Alien Helpers with white hair",' responded another inhabitant. 'They are giving us help. Many of them are appearing. They promise to save everyone.'

Rose looked at River, puzzled. At her feet, the stunned people began to stir. She stepped back a few paces.

'We are not "Allack",' said River, 'but we want to help. We know the trouble that your planet is in.'

'No,' shouted the first inhabitant to speak. 'We need the Allack. They are in charge and helping all over the city. If you are not with the Allack, you must leave! This is what they say.'

Another person shouted, 'Vant! You are alive! Come with us. It is safer together. Let's go!'

'Virro!' Vant ran over to the speaker. 'Come!' she shouted over her shoulder. 'We must join them. These Allack are the people we need.'

The stunned inhabitants climbed to their feet, eyeing River warily. They backed up to join their fellows.

Velki hesitated. 'But we know nothing about these Allack. It is safer to find out more, first.'

'Yes,' agreed Rose. 'Who are they? What are their motives?'

'I am going with them,' declared Vant, and almost as if her words were a starter's pistol, the group of inhabitants took off, Vant among them.

'Vant, no!' cried Velki. 'Stay with us!'

'Too late,' said River. 'She's panicking. They all are. They won't listen to reason.'

Rose shrugged. 'It sounds like these "Allack" are organized and are offering help. No wonder these people want to find them.' She turned to Velki. 'Can you help us find this friend of yours?'

Velki shook her head rapidly and strode off, continuing towards the north. Rise and River followed her, all the while scanning the streets they passed. The ground shuddered occasionally under their feet, but no falling debris reached them. The city seemed empty of cars and they hardly saw a living soul. But down the side streets to the right, mist was gathering. It softened the lines of vehicles small and large which littered the tarmac in various states of damage. Inside were bodies. Rose did not want to look too closely. Not far behind lay a dull red line...

_To be continued_


	5. Investigation

**Disclaimer:** This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All Doctor Who characters within belong to the BBC. All other characters are fictitious. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.

**Ch.5 Summary:** Rose and River's investigation begins to yield some answers. Meanwhile, River has noticed Rose and Ten's difficulties. She finds time to discuss Time Lord birds and bees with a resentful Rose.

* * *

**Chapter 5:** _Investigation_

The owner of the pub was still alive. He had not left although his premises lay only three blocks from the time-fracture and the rest of the area was deserted. When Velki pulled what looked like an old-fashioned bell-pull and a chime sounded within, the owner peeked out of a small circular window in the middle of the door. Almost immediately, he opened the door and pulled Velki in.

'Friends of yours?' he asked, peering at Rose and River curiously. 'They don't look like Allack.'

'No!' said Velki. 'Let them in. They are trying to help.'

Rose looked around her as they passed through the ubiquitous protruding entrance. It reminded her a little of a large entrance to an igloo, except that the interior was just as richly painted with the colours of the outside. The large room inside was well lit, but the lighting was soft and slightly reddish. The walls were made of a rich, wood-like substance, and seating, although a little different in style from Earth, was clearly meant for the same purpose. Even stools lined a counter behind which paraphernalia for drink mixing could be seen. The stools were similar to those of Earth, except that several wooden and metal carved decorations dangled from the back half of each seat.

'Some things never change,' murmured Rose.

River heard her and grinned. 'The best things never do,' she said. She turned to the owner. 'It sounds like you don't trust the Allack.'

'No, I do not.' The owner was quite tall with gangly limbs. He folded himself into a chair and gestured at the chairs across the table from him. They all sat. 'I am Vorran. You are?'

'I'm Rose and this is River. We've come to help, or try to. Though it seems the Allack beat us to it.'

'Yes.' Vorran pulled a face. 'Are you with a bigger group? When did you come?'

'Just one other... friend. Only an hour ago,' said River. 'As soon as we got your planet's mayday.'

'I saw the friend,' offered Velki. 'He crossed the line.'

'Do not be daft,' Vorran snapped. 'No one can cross the lines.'

'He can,' Rose assured him. 'That's why we came. He understands time. He can tell when it's safe to cross. He's going to try to stop whatever this is that's breaking up your planet.'

Vorran looked at her and River, mulling the information over. 'All right,' he said at last. 'Velki, do you trust them?'

Velki slowly wound her fingers in her hair, pulling at it slightly. 'I think so,' she said and shook her head. 'They do not try to tell me what to do, and they do not tell me they have all the answers. Except their friend who knows how to cross the lines. But even he does not know what he will find. Their behaviour rings true to me.'

'I have always found Velki to be a good judge of people,' said Vorran. 'Do not betray that trust, all right?'

'We won't,' Rose promised. 'But... could you tell us about the Allack? Why don't you like them?'

Vorran scowled. 'There are so many of them. They came immediately. Almost the moment the lines appeared. Even before our communications systems were knocked out, there were broadcast announcements that they were here and set up to help us. How would they know to come? And they have all this equipment. First aid stations, food, medicine. Everything all right for our people. Again, how would they know? It seems like they were prepared already. Like they knew this was going to happen. It has only been a few hours since the time fractures and the tremors came, and now they are everywhere.'

'Yeah,' said River. 'I can see why you're suspicious. Have they made any hostile move?'

'Not as far as I know,' admitted Vorran. 'All I have heard is that they have been helping. Everyone is flocking to them. It is like we have handed over our trust to them. They have told us not to trust any other aliens-that you are only here to take advantage of us.'

'That would explain that crowd's reaction to us,' said River.

'What about your government?' asked Rose. 'Did they accept the Allack's help?'

Velki nodded her head rapidly. 'No, they cannot. They are stuck in the slow places. I told you this.'

'Oh,' said Rose. 'Right. But isn't anyone-'

'The fractures divide the city in half,' explained Vorran. 'This is the working section. Not the government section. No-one from the government was here when the fractures happened.'

'How many fractures are between this area and your government?' asked River.

'Many,' said Vorran. 'Some people brave enough to come near the lines have written messages on large paper. They say there are more lines, and people behind other lines write the same thing. But the further down the fractures they go, it seems fewer people come to communicate. No-one has seen anyone come out of the government area. They are behind many fractures. This is all from people I trust. I have heard a lot more, but a lot of that seems like crazy rumours from panic. And this is not the only problem. All the warehouses and storage are on the other side of at least one fracture. So are most of the bigger restaurants and food stores. There will soon be no food here, if this goes on for more than a few days.'

'Have you had any looting?' asked River.

'Not yet,' he answered. 'I never have much here at any time anyway. I usually have fresh supplies delivered each morning. But this morning, it never happened. I have a bit left over from yesterday, but it will not last beyond today.'

'Thanks,' said Rose and she stood up. River followed suit. The room shook from another tremor, and Rose held on to the bar edge. The ornaments on the edge of the seats tinkled and chimed. 'I think I'd like to find out what these Allack are up to.'

'Where are they?' asked River.

Vorran shrugged. 'Anywhere. Not so close to the lines since people have already abandoned this area. Besides, this was supposed to be a holiday. Not so many people down here among the businesses. Only for entertainment, and no-one wants that now. So, head further away from the red line. Soon the buildings will change from businesses to tall multi-dwellings. You will see them there.'

Rose nodded. 'Thanks. We'll find out what we can.'

She and River left, Velki opting to stay behind with her friend.

As they followed Vorran's directions and followed a street westward away from the time fracture, Rose looked at River.

'What do you think? Allack friendly or not?'

River shrugged. 'Hard to say. There are organizations out there who help when they can.'

'But they came so soon. Sooner than us, even.'

'There are other people who have time travel ability,' River reminded her. 'It's rare, but Time Agents have helped organizations. Tipped them off when something is about to happen.' She gestured at her Vortex Manipulator.

'So, they could be just what they claim to be,' mused Rose. 'Rather like a universal Red Cross.'

'Could be. But I never judge a book by its cover.' River grinned at Rose. 'Shall we investigate?'

'Let's!'

They continued in silence. Both women instinctively kept to shadows, near to edges of buildings rather than walking in the middle of the mostly empty streets. Soon they began to hear some hints of activity ahead of them. Half a block later, they could discern tents in the distance-tents erected in the middle of the road.

'One of the Allacks' emergency stations?' guessed Rose.

'Could be,' murmured River.

Two blocks later, they caught sight of two beings turning down a side street. They were tall with unusually white, gleaming hair.

'Allack?' whispered Rose.

'Think so,' River whispered back. Rose noticed that she slurred her 's' into a 'th', even though they were still at least a block away from the beings. Nevertheless, she nodded appreciatively at River's care not to give them away by the sibilant sound.

By unspoken agreement, they both followed the beings, careful to keep to shadows, watching where they stepped so as not to inadvertently kick a piece of debris and give away their presence.

Soon the beings ahead of them entered a glass-fronted two-storey building. By the time the women reached the location and peered around the edge of the front, the beings had disappeared into the further reaches of the interior.

River twiddled with her vortex manipulator for a moment, then turned to Rose. 'They're both in the back and accessing a computer system. Safe to go in.'

Rose nodded, cautiously went to the door and opened it. They slipped in and made their way through a lobby-like area and down a narrow corridor to the back. They heard a murmur of voices through a door at the end of the corridor, and they edged around a corner away from direct line of sight of the doorway.

It was not long before the beings emerged. From a closer vantage point, it seemed to Rose that everything about these beings was elongated. They had narrow faces and long, shimmering white hair, and tall, slender white-robed bodies. Their low voices were smooth and liquid-sounding. They did not show any awareness of the women's presence and simply left. After a moment, the sound of the front door opening and closing came to them.

'Right,' said Rose. 'Let's take a look.'

Inside the room, a row of computers adorned the left side of the room. Rose gulped. The control banks were on sloping surfaces with the screens inset in the walls. There was absolutely nothing familiar about what passed for keyboards.

'Right,' she repeated. 'I'll keep a look-out. Can you access these things? Can you tell what they were doing?'

'No problem,' said River. She swiftly settled herself down at a terminal and rapidly moved her fingers over the controls. Rose returned to the door and peered out. She could just make out the front door in the distance. The coast was clear.

After a few minutes, River called her over. Several maps were displayed on the screen.

'These were the last things accessed.' She pointed out each item as she spoke. 'Seems like they were looking for geological fault lines and population centres. And hospitals.'

'So they could be friendly,' said Rose.

'As far as I can tell.' But River frowned. 'Hang on, there's something happening...'

Rose peered over her shoulder but she saw nothing. 'What?'

River shook her head. 'I don't know. It seemed like the computer was doing something, but whatever it was is finished now. Maybe some automated function.' She wiped the maps from the screen. 'Let's go. Nothing more to see here.'

Rose nodded, but she felt unsettled. River seemed to share her sentiment for they both moved quickly back through the building, checked to see if the coast was clear and left the premises.

'Where to, now?' asked Rose. 'I don't feel like joining these Allack. I get the sense that we're not welcome if we're not either inhabitants or Allack ourselves.'

River nodded and pursed her lips. 'They seem to have the trust of the locals and are well-organized, so best leave them at it for now. Though, if we find out anything dodgy...'

'Look,' mused Rose. 'There might still be people alive near the fractures, hurt from the earthquakes-er, planetquakes-instead of the lines. Velki said that everyone else ran away, so they wouldn't've had help. We could at least bring them in to the Allack stations.'

River nodded. 'Good idea. Maybe then they'll see us as allies. At the very least, we'd get to look around a bit at their aid stations. See if they're up to anything.'

They turned back eastward towards the pub and, by unspoken agreement, pushed their pace. Except for the aid station in the distance behind them, the roads were utterly deserted. Wind howled through the streets and between the tall buildings. The ground trembled under their feet, but it felt more like an afterthought, and Rose paid it no mind.

She shivered and zipped up her jacket. 'It's a lot colder than when we first arrived.'

'The climate is going to pieces,' murmured River. 'It's going to get worse as time goes on.'

'What about the Doctor? Is it going to be the same for him?'

'Ten?' River considered this. 'Yeah. Well, except, for him, it's going to get hotter. Drier. He's going to get a wicked sunburn.'

Rose stared at her. 'Sunburn?'

'Effect of the fractures. Our side, colder and foggy. Did you notice the mist near the fracture?'

Rose nodded.

'Well, on his side, he's going to get winds stronger each time he crosses a line. Enough of a difference and he'll be walking into hurricane-force winds.'

'Oh.' Rose bit her lip.

River watched her with curiosity. 'I don't mean to pry but...' She chuckled then. 'Well, of course I do. What am I saying. But, really, is everything all right between you two? I know you're worried about him, but it seems to me there's something else going on.'

Rose looked straight ahead as they walked back along the road. 'We're fine.' She quickened her pace again.

River easily matched it. 'No, you're not. I saw how you two acted in the Tardis. Also, you refused to answer my question during the target practice.'

'That was awfully personal,' was the muttered response.

River nodded. 'Yeah. But...' She cocked her head to one side and then straightened. 'Look, maybe I have no business talking to you about this, but I'm the only one who can.'

'Why?'

'Why? Because we're the only two involved with Time Lords. I have a... unique perspective.'

Rose kicked at a small piece of debris. It skittered to the side.

River continued. 'I know how hard it is to get the Doctor to talk about his past or... or anything personal. If Eleven is like that, and Ten came from him, I think I have a pretty good idea of what you're up against.'

Rose's shoulders slumped. 'He talks, more than he ever used to when he was still fully Time Lord. More than Eleven, I think. But...'

'You still don't feel as if you're being let in.'

'Yeah.' She looked at River then. 'Don't get me wrong. Anything now, anything new, he's all right. He'll talk, share, whatever. But it's like you said. Anything in his past... deep stuff...'

'Locked away.' River smiled wistfully. 'Don't I know it. But...' and she brightened. 'There's one thing I can help with. Now, Rose, you're not gonna like me talking about this-maybe you don't think we know each other well enough, but, hell, I'm going to anyways. About sex-'

Rose scowled.

'-just hear me out. I'm not going to ask you anything. Just listen, all right?' She didn't wait for Rose to answer. 'Look, it took a while for me and Eleven. In the end, I had to-' Here, River's gaze became unfocused and she laughed gently. '-persuade him.'

'What is it with that?' Rose burst out. 'I mean,' she continued, a little sheepishly, 'he's interested, or he tells me he is, but it's all up to me to get the mood going. Then something happens-aliens or whatever-and... it's gone. He's so easily distracted. I've tried so many times. Now I feel like I'm almost nagging.'

River laughed merrily, but stopped at the wounded look on Rose's face. 'Sorry. It's just that... It's their culture. Gallifreyan. I mean, I might be part Time Lord, but I'm not Gallifreyan. I'm human, like you. We have different needs, psychologically and biologically.'

'He's human now,' Rose reminded her.

'Part human only. And that part only biologically. Which might make him begin to be, er, interested in things. But culturally? He's still mostly Gallifreyan, and he's had almost a millennia of only having been Time Lord. The human thing is still a mystery to him, I bet. Strange quirks he's noticing in himself that he doesn't really understand. Poor fellow. A human sexual drive must be utterly confusing to him.'

Rose threw her hands up in the air. 'Don't they ever have sex?'

River made a face. 'Not really. Everything became so scientific and clinical... I don't know details-it's hard to find out anything even from the Tardis. But telepathic connection is considered more important between mates. See, anything physical, undignified... it's just not a part of their culture. It hasn't been for a long time.'

'How long did it take you to, er, persuade him?' asked Rose. 'Er, Eleven.'

'200 years.'

'What?'

River chuckled. 'Don't worry. Not 200 years for me. For him.'

'Wait... 200 years? How long have you been together? How many... incarnations?'

'Not that long,' said River soothingly. 'For me, at any rate. And, only one-at least as far as I know. But... when was the last time you saw him?'

'Just after Amy and Rory's honeymoon,' Rose answered.

'Amy and Rory...' River smiled softly. 'Right... That was 200 years ago.'

Rose gaped at her, and then shut her mouth. Her mind reeled. 200 years ago, or close enough, was the Battle of Trafalgar. She had only seen Eleven last year, but she was as distant in the past to him as Nelson's victory was to her.

'I didn't... I didn't know,' she stammered. 'I'm ancient history to him.'

'No, you're not.' River took her by the shoulders and faced her. 'He's a Time Lord. 200 years doesn't mean anything to him. And... he still loves you. I know, and I'm fine with that. It doesn't affect our relationship. It doesn't need to. That's the way he is. But... he's moved on. He's had to. He always has to.'

Rose nodded. 'Right. Yeah. I know.' She stared at the ground, mind racing.

'Meanwhile,' River continued after Rose remained silent, 'I i_did_/i persuade him in the end.' She elbowed Rose playfully. 'Once I got him to do it-and never, ever let him know I told you this, but we girls have to stick together-he found out that he really, really, rather liked it. Much more than he had imagined. He became a lot more interested after that, I can tell you! No problem getting him in the mood again.' She winked. 'I can't speak for Ten... after all, he's become his own person now, but... he i_does_/i have that dash of human genes. I think it's just making him do it for the first time.'

'That's the problem,' mumbled Rose. 'It's been a year. I don't know what else to try.'

By this time, they had reached the street with the pub. The road they had been walking on continued on towards the time fracture. Mist swirled between the fractured buildings and the areas beyond glowed red.

As they approached the debris near the fracture, the dreadful smell assaulted them. Rose gagged. 'That's getting worse.' She tried not to think of the cause, but it was to no avail. A feeling of nausea rose within her. She avoided looking directly at the bodies.

'Hang on,' muttered River. 'There's an easier way to do this.' She fiddled with her vortex manipulator. 'Just going to scan...' After a few moments, she looked up, satisfied. 'No need. No-one alive here.'

Rose clenched her hands. 'Then let's go to the next block.' She turned and headed north. River followed her and reset the scanning radius.

They tried for an hour, scanning block after block, but no-one was left alive.

'Either the inhabitants or the Allack already took the injured, or they've already died,' said River.

'Yeah.' Rose's shoulders slumped and she scuffed the toe of her shoe. 'I hope they already took them.' She sighed. 'What do we do now?'

'Go back to that pub,' River declared. 'It's a base, of sorts. We share what information we have. It's the least we can do. After that? Perhaps the direct approach might be best with these Allack. If they are friendly, fine. If they're not...' She patted her gun slung on her right hip. 'There are other ways of communicating.'

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

'Thank you,' said Vorran. 'for coming back and letting us know what you have learned. I agree, it is not much, but it is something.'

'Yes,' agreed Velki who sat beside Rose at the bar. 'This is all so strange and we don't know about aliens.'

Rose twisted back and forth on the bar stool. The dangling ornaments tinkled and chimed softly. Her legs dangled, too short to reach the supporting rail around the lower part of the stool. She looked under the bar and found pairs of holes in the under-facing of the bar, in front of each stool. She rested her feet on the cushioned lower edges gratefully.

Vorran watched her from behind the counter, his fingers drumming on his chin. 'For children,' he said, pointing under the bar to the holes from his side. He straightened. 'There is something else I think you need to know.'

River crossed the room from where she had been looking out the window. 'What?'

'Two of my friends came by while you were gone-not long before you came back-and they told me that the Allack have been asking people about two aliens seen in this area.'

'Oh?' Rose stared at him. 'Us?'

Vorran shook his head in agreement. 'The descriptions matched yours. Orders are to tell the Allack immediately if you are found, and, if possible, to bring you in.'

'Orders,' murmured Rose. 'Doesn't sound very friendly.'

'No, it doesn't,' said River with a gleam in her eye. 'This is more like it. Something definite.'

'Though...' Rose pondered. 'If they're working with the Shadow Proclamation, maybe they know about us and want to work with us.'

'But if they're not and are up to something...' River sat down on a stool next to Rose. 'They could see us as a threat. The Proclamation didn't mention any other organizations helping.'

Velki leaned forward on her crossed arms. 'Shadow Proclamation?'

'Galactic police agency,' responded River.

'Did you tell your friends you'd seen us?' asked Rose.

Vorran shook his head. 'No. But they did say that you had been seen near here.'

'Hm.' She got off her bar stool. 'Is there a back door?'

'That way.' He pointed back to an opening to a passageway behind the left end of the bar. A dark blue curtain split up the middle hung down to waist height.

'I'll check the front,' said River and she slid off her own stool. Vorran and Velki watched them, bemused.

Rose followed Vorran's directions and, ducking through the curtain, she passed down a narrow hallway to another rounded vestibule. It protruded much like the front did, but it was much smaller with only room for one or two people. Small windows in the sides and in the door afforded her a view in all directions. She peeped out, careful not to show herself fully through the panes of glass.

The alley between the buildings was empty save for the universally similar collection of dustbins and other restaurant paraphernalia. She checked each direction, but there was nothing to be seen. Other than the muffled sound of the keening wind, there was no noise.

She turned back and reentered the passageway. Half way down the corridor, soft, electronic noise reached her ears and she froze. Diffused pulses of blue light reflected on the walls, coming from the main room of the pub.

Rose pressed herself against the wall, listening. Within seconds, harsh voices shouted out orders and booted feet stomped about. Shouts of protest came from both Vorran and River as well as a sound of a weapon being fired. Someone, possibly Velki, screamed. Rose edged towards the room. Just ahead of her came the noise of Vorran being dragged out from behind the bar.

'No-one else here,' barked one gravelly voice. 'The other female is missing.'

'Secure the back,' came a sharp answer.

The stomping of heavy boots approached.

_To be continued..._


	6. Conspiracy and Revenge

**Chapter 6 Summary:** Rose's Torchwood training is needed when she and River are threatened and events begin to come together.

**Disclaimer:** This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All Doctor Who characters within belong to the BBC. All other characters are fictitious. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.

* * *

**Chapter 6: **_Conspiracy and Revenge_

The heavy footfalls came closer. Rose knew that if she didn't move now, she too would be captured, like River, Vorran and Velki.

She dove under the curtain and rolled. She fetched up against the half wall of the bar, under the counter. Just as she was turning to peer back to make sure she hadn't disturbed the curtain and betrayed her movements, the sound of tramping passed the end of the bar into the passage where she had just stood. All she saw was the flaps of the curtain closing again behind a broad, leather-clad back. She shrank back under the bar.

'Where is the other female?' The demand was curt.

River spoke next. 'What makes you think there was anyone else?' Her voice sounded relaxed.

'Reports said there were two alien females. You match the description of one of them.'

Rose frowned. There was something familiar in the timbre of the voice, and in the style of speaking. She leaned her head back softly against the under-wall of the bar to think. However, her head went back further than she expected. Startled, she turned her head to look and found that she had been crouching in front of one of the children's foot holes that she herself had been using earlier. Moving her feet carefully without a scrape or a shuffle, she turned partly around and peered through the hole.

Past the stools on the other side, all she could see were legs and lower torsos. To the right of her vision, and closer to the front and back doors, River, Velki and Vorran were sitting on chairs in the middle of the room. The chairs had been pulled away from other furniture, no doubt by the aliens to ensure that their prisoners couldn't hide any movements under the cover of a table. They were not bound to the chair. River's hands were resting lightly on her lap-one hand on each leg. To the left stood one of the aliens, clad in leather and boots. He faced them. He carried a gun which he held down at his side. A bulky body lay face down on the floor partially obscured by the end of the bar to the right.

River spoke again. 'While I rather like big, handsome fellas, I don't think I really like the guy behind me training his gun on me. We are all aliens on this planet. I'm trying to help the inhabitants. What are you three doing here? Well, four if you count that fellow down on the floor.'

Rose nodded slowly. Two conscious aliens in the bar, she thought, and one still at the back.

'You are not welcome here,' said Vorran. 'This woman has come in peace. You have not. Leave immediately.'

The aliens laughed, a raucous, baying sound, and Rose froze. That laugh. Once again it felt familiar. These aliens certainly were not the soft-voiced Allack. The Allack that had come first...

Rose's breath caught and then she let it out slowly. Pilot fish... The Allack were pilot fish.

She eased her laser gun out of its holster inch by inch, the smooth metal not making a sound against the supple leather. She gripped the holster firmly.

'He has a point,' River said. 'You haven't come in peace, even though the inhabitants aren't in any position to fight you. So why are you here? And why are you so interested in reports of two alien women?'

Rose could see the alien's hand draw an electronic tablet from some hidden pouch, press some control and then turn it to show River. In the second it took to turn the tablet, Rose could clearly see a picture of Ten. She sucked in a breath. Not of Ten precisely, but rather Ten and Eleven as they once were-the Tenth Doctor, clad in pyjamas and holding a sword.

'Very handsome,' drawled River. 'What of him?'

'He is the Doctor,' barked the alien. 'He killed our leader and destroyed our flagship. The other woman travels with him. We will have revenge!'

From behind her, Rose could hear the heavy footfalls of the alien returning from the back.

'Yeah, revenge,' said River. 'Four heavily armed soldiers taking a barkeep and a woman hostage without a fair fight. Terribly impressive. I think I'd pin my chances on the fellow in the pyjamas. He beat you once. Again should be easy enough.'

The alien holding the tablet roared in anger and he lunged at River. Rose swiftly poked her gun through the hole and shot him in the hip. He went down like a felled ox, crashing at River's feet.

Behind her, the returning alien burst through the curtains. Rose whipped around and shot him in the chest just as his gaze fell upon her. He went down with a look of surprise on his face behind his elaborate, jagged bone mask. Rose's suspicions were confirmed. They were the Sycorax.

'Stop!' roared the last remaining Sycorax and, leaning over the bar, he levelled his weapon at her. She rose slowly, tossing aside her weapon and put her hands in the air. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see River edging her way over to the table where her weapon lay.

'You are the female we are looking for,' snarled the Sycorax. He glared at Rose. 'Only that saves you from dying on the spot!'

Rose nodded, her arms still in the air. 'You want the Doctor? You did hear that he is dead, yeah?'

The Sycorax snorted. 'We saw the trial. Two Doctors. We're not interested in the one with a different face. We know he's dead. But this one lives! And he will pay for what he's done!'

River stepped out from behind him, smiled and, as he started, shot him squarely in the chest. He toppled over and she stepped back to give him room to hit the floor.

'If you say so.' She shrugged, flipped her gun elegantly around one finger and smoothly slid it into its holster.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

'Nice work,' said River and nodded, staring at Rose with a tilt to her head.

'Not so bad yourself,' Rose answered, grinning. She picked up her gun and holstered it. 'Get that computer thing. See if there's any information we can use.'

'I'm on it,' responded River as she scooped the tablet up from the floor. She began to tap on the screen.

Vorran slowly stood, his eyes wide. 'Do you do this kind of thing often?' He backed away from the nearest fallen alien, watching it closely.

'When we have to,' said Rose. 'Which is more times than I'd like.'

'Who are you?' breathed Velki. 'You are so casual about this!'

'We are helpers.' Rose straightened her spine. 'When people are in trouble, we help. We don't stand by.'

River spoke in a low voice. 'Look at this.' She thrust the tablet into Rose's hands.

Rose peered at the tablet which displayed a map clearly of the Virrukoi planet. One particular symbol with one word placed underneath was repeated and scattered over the continents. 'Boolium,' she breathed. She looked up and scowled. 'Profiteering.'

River snorted. 'They must have been watching the planet for a long time, hoping for something like this to happen.'

'Sending in the pilot fish as soon as they could.' Rose thrust the tablet back into River's hands.

'Pilot fish?'

'Allack,' Rose muttered. 'Just a term.' She kicked the leg of one of the fallen Sycorax. 'How long 'till they wake up?'

'Half an hour... give or take.' River pocketed the tablet.

'Those aliens want to mine our planet?' asked Vorran. He looked rapidly between the Sycorax and River and Rose.

Rose started. 'Oh! Sorry. Yeah. That's what they do. Pick on younger planets. Take anything important.'

'We have to stop them!' Velki cried. She rapidly stooped beside each Sycorax, collecting their weapons.

'That's what we plan to do,' said River drily.

'We have to warn Ten and Eleven,' Rose hissed.

'Right,' responded River. 'But we also have to warn the inhabitants about the Allack.'

'We'll do that,' said Vorran. He stood straight. 'I know how to spread information, who to go to. There's no government and little in the way of communications, but I know what to do.'

River regarded him, nodding slowly. 'You're a bar keeper. I bet you do. Right!'

'Let's tie this lot up first,' said Rose sharply.

River nodded again and the three of them searched each Sycorax for further weapons and tech, dragged them into a back room, tied them up thoroughly, exited and locked the door. River disabled any devices they found.

'There,' she said. 'There shouldn't be any signals from these things now. Unless they have subdermal transponders, no-one else should be able to locate them.'

'Still,' said Rose and she looked at Vorran and Velki, 'be careful if you come back. Don't be captured again. They won't be happy.'

'We know,' he answered. He stuffed one of the weapons in his pocket and the rest into a carry-bag he slung over one shoulder. He added several bags of snack food from behind the counter, plus a bottle of water. 'Good luck.'

'Please save our planet,' Velki implored.

'We'll try,' promised Rose. 'Ready?' She looked at River.

'Always.'

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Rose checked the murals of each building as they got closer to where they had hidden the jeep. When they reached the building with swirls of green, orange and red, Rose turned to the left. River nodded and followed her. They retrieved the jeep. Nothing had been disturbed. River slid behind the wheel and, as Rose climbed up into her side and closed the door, River backed the jeep, flicked it around with a twist of the wheel and a jerk on the hand brake. They speeded out of the alley, taking the corner almost on two wheels and headed back out to the highway.

The roads were still deserted this close to the red time-shifted line. However, when they emerged from the city core into the short suburban area amongst the sparser, low dwellings, Rose looked up and gasped.

'Stop,' she shouted.

River screeched the jeep to a halt. She stared up through the windscreen. 'That's new. Sycorax?'

Rose nodded, breathing hard. A massive, rocky spaceship hovered over the north side of the city. 'Turn off any alien tech,' she demanded.

'Damn,' muttered River and she fumbled at the vortex manipulator on her wrist while Rose snatched the tablet from River's jacket pocket.

'Thanks.' River took it from her and made a few swift movements. 'The guns won't register. They're inert unless you're using them.' She returned the tablet to her pocket and started the jeep again. 'Maybe this is how the Sycorax found us.'

'Yeah,' said Rose. 'But how did they know about me and the Doctor?'

River scowled. 'Don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out.'

Rose froze. 'Vant. Vant knew. She also saw the Tardis. Must have. D'you think they caught her? She was upset and might've told them everything, yeah?'

River pondered this. 'Possibly.'

'D'you think they'd have hurt her?'

River shook her head. 'No. It would have been the Allack, and they would have wanted to keep the inhabitants trusting them. They would have just repeated the message that other aliens are dangerous, and then quietly passed along the information to the Sycorax.'

'I hope you're right,' said Rose. River increased speed and Rose hung on grimly. Memories of cavernous interiors, a cruel whip snapping with lethal energy, and mocking laughter came to her. 'At least the tremors have stopped,' she added to distract herself.

River nodded slowly. 'You're right,' she said. 'Interesting. They should have continued. The Tardis wouldn't have been able to stop them completely. I wonder...' Her voice trailed off.

'Ten'll come back out at the same spot, yeah?' Rose asked after a few moments.

'If he can,' responded River. She dodged a crashed vehicle in the road, and the jeep swayed.

'Can we get closer to the line?' Rose peered out to the left of the road. The dwellings had almost disappeared and countryside lay ahead of them. 'Maybe we can see if he comes out in a different spot.'

River shook her head. 'I don't recommend it. It'll slow us to a crawl in those fields, and Eleven needs to know the Sycorax are here. The Tardis's systems will be so overstressed by maintaining the planet's core that she might not notice, and Eleven the same even if the scanners do pick up something.'

Rose's eyes widened. 'But they'll know he's there! They know the Tardis.'

'Exactly. Besides, the line isn't that far away. Look-there!-you can see it.'

River was right. As the swell of the fields and ground vegetation briefly cleared, Rose could see the line on the ground. It disappeared and reappeared each time the terrain allowed a clear sight. She also could see that it would be obvious if Ten were running towards it from the fields beyond. In the far distance beyond the red line lay the next time fracture, the murky red wall standing dark and seeming impenetrable.

'Right,' she agreed. She peered up at Sycorax spaceship. 'Why haven't they already transported us up?' You had your vortex manipulator on all the time.'

'Dunno.' River shrugged elegantly even as she dodged another abandoned vehicle. 'All the crazy time fields? Screws up their scanning systems?'

'I hope so.' Rose straightened then. 'Could that block them from picking up the Tardis?'

'Dunno.' River grimaced. 'The way she's working to hold the planet together? She must be lit up like a beacon to any scanner. We'd be very lucky if the Sycorax didn't detect her.'

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

They drove without talking, but Rose rapidly shifted her head, keeping watch on the time shift, the Sycorax ship and for any sign of Ten. Soon her eyes felt dry and she blinked quickly to relieve them. She returned to her scanning.

River's words proved to be prophetic. The next time Rose twisted around in her seat to get a better view of the ship over the city, she gasped.

'What is it?' snapped River.

'Little dots leaving the ship,' answered Rose.

'Little dots? As in fighters or in torpedoes?'

Rose squinted. 'Can't tell.'

'Do they usually use smaller ships?' asked River.

Rose scowled. 'No. They had a teleport thing. Just... just beamed us up. I didn't-'

River interrupted. 'There's the Tardis.'

'Good!' Rose glanced forward. The blue box had suddenly appeared on the horizon as the jeep crested a low hill. She sighed, her body relaxing just a bit.

'How many dots?'

Rose looked back up at the sky. She opened the sunroof. The wind whipped at her hair as she undid her seatbelt and pulled herself up, hands gripping the edge of the window frame. 'Six. Wait... three are going down to the city, and three towards us. Or the Tardis.' She craned her neck for a closer view. 'They're getting bigger. I don't think they're torpedoes. They're too...' She cast about for a word. 'Clunky?'

'Shuttles,' muttered River. 'The invasion is starting. Maybe the teleport is useless, if their scanners are...'

The jeep jolted and Rose fell back into her seat. 'What-?'

'Look past the red line.' River jabbed a finger towards Rose's window. 'I saw a flash of something.'

Rose pressed her nose against her window. River was right. Something was happening. The murky dark red wall of the second time fracture far, far in the distance was fluctuating. And then she saw it-a flash of light that seemed to slow into a shining line before it dissipated.

'Ten?' asked River, her eyes on the road. She swerved around a damaged section of the road. The wheels on the right touched soil and the jeep juddered until they were back on smooth tarmac.

'Probably.' Rose squinted her eyes. 'Can't see him, but who else would it be? Can you go any faster?'

River grunted. 'Not if you want me to have any reaction time at all.'

Nevertheless, Rose did feel the jeep speed up a little. The Tardis was closer now and she could see the panelling on the blue door. She returned her gaze to the red shifted fields and then shouted.

'It's him. It's him!'

_To be continued..._


	7. Back in His Element

**Chapter 7 Summary:** Rose and River reunite with Ten as the invasion begins, but even Ten's gift of the gab fails to get him out of trouble.

**Disclaimer:** This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All Doctor Who characters within belong to the BBC. All other characters are fictitious. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.

* * *

**Chapter 7:** _Back in His Element_

The murky red wall had paled so it was transparent enough to see through. Beyond, a runner approached that line. He was too far away for his features to be recognizable, but the long limbs and brown clothing were unmistakable. It was Ten.

Several beings were running after him. However, through two layers of time shift, all of them, Ten included, were slowed down so that they hovered in the air for a couple of seconds between each stride.

'They're chasing him,' Rose cried.

River cursed and she slowed the jeep down before she picked a fairly level field and turned the jeep into it. They bumped and jolted over the terrain, Rose hanging on to both window frames beside her and above her.

One minute later, River stopped the jeep. They were twenty feet from their own red line. The Tardis stood fifty feet to their right.

As Rose clambered out of her side of the vehicle, she saw Ten pause and turn his head to each side as he approached his nearest line, the second line away from Rose and River. His hair bobbed languidly with each agonizingly slow turn of his head.

Soon, the fluctuations cleared in one area, and Ten immediately surged through, his long legs stretching out into an unnatural, sluggish sprint. But he was now moving a bit faster. Behind him were three Virrukoians and, Rose realized with a start, four Sycorax.

'Yes!' crowed Rose as River joined her close to their own red line. 'He's through.'

'Yeah,' said River. 'But they're getting through too.'

She was right. The pursuers, even though they were several strides away, still made it to the fluctuating gap. Most made it through, but the last Sycorax failed to stop when the slightest tinge of red appeared. He went down in a flailing of limbs.

'Oh my god,' whispered Rose.

But then the wall cleared completely and the land and sky brightened beyond. The distance became clearer with land stretching far beyond revealing mountains on the horizon.

'The time differentials are collapsing,' whispered River.

'Come on!' shouted Rose.

Ten was closer now, and Rose could see that he was carrying some odd device that glowed and had wires sticking out of it. It was roughly the size of a football.

She could also see his face, and she felt a little lift of recognition and amusement even amidst her concern.

He was focused on his flight and clearly both concerned about the pursuers and protecting the object in his hands, but there was a certain look on his face she hadn't seen for a long, long time.

Exhilaration.

He was the Doctor, he was running, and he was back in his element.

Now he was only ten feet away. He fixed his gaze on her, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face, his eyes alight with pleasure. But Rose saw the line between herself and him suddenly begin to fluctuate from its previously calm state. A gap appeared between them.

'Doctor!' she shouted.

He nodded and, with only the slightest hesitation, shot straight for it.

But even as time warped and fluctuated around the gap, the next moment seemed to slow down for Rose. Ten reached the gap and crossed it. But behind him, one of the Sycorax aimed a laser gun and fired just as the gap closed, cutting off the pursuers.

The beam hit Ten squarely in his back and he lurched forward into Rose and River's arms. They all went down in a tangle of limbs.

'Doctor!' Rose cried out. She clutched at him. 'Doctor,' she whispered again and fumbled at his neck. His heartbeat was steady under her fingers.

He groaned and, to Rose's shock, slowly rose to his knees.

'You're alive,' she whispered.

He looked at her then, with a cock of his head, a grin and a wink.

'How can you be alive?' shouted one of the Virrukoi. His voice was deep and slowed down. 'These lasers would kill anyone else.'

Rose looked up. All the pursuers were ranged along their side of the line, weapons trained on Ten. River, her legs firmly planted, faced them with gun trained on them. To Rose, the Virrukoian speaker looked like a government official with more formal clothing. Two others wore white smocks as if they were scientists. The last two carried guns, much smaller than those of the Sycorax. Rose swiftly stood between them and Ten.

'Oh, well,' Ten said as he rose stiffly to his feet, though Rose saw a spasm of pain cross his face. 'Normally, yes, you would have got me.' Rose noticed that he lowered his voice and slowed his speech. 'But... funny thing is about time fractures. The laser beam left your weapon while at lethal strength. But you forgot about the time differential. The gap must have closed just as your beam passed through. Lucky for me!' He grinned and stood beside Rose. 'On this side, the energy of that beam was cut almost in half. Ohhh... I imagine I'll find a nasty burn on my back, but nothing unfixable.'

'Meanwhile,' said River grimly, and she freshened her grip on her gun. She too lowered her voice and spoke slowly. 'My gun is on the faster side of the line. I shoot you and the beam will blow right through you. So, no funny moves.'

'But you're only one,' shouted one of the Virrukoian guards. 'You can't get all of us. And the thief must be stopped. You don't know the damage you are doing to the experiment.'

'She's not the only one,' declared Rose. She whipped out her own gun. Ten shot a glance at her and she winced. Nevertheless, she stood firm. 'Lower your weapons,' she shouted.

'Er, Rose,' whispered Ten. 'Deepen and slow your voice. You sound like a chipmunk to them.'

'Right,' she whispered back, annoyed with herself. Then, with a start, she looked back up toward the city. 'Doctor,' she hissed. The three specks that had left the Sycorax spaceship and headed towards them while she and River had been in the jeep were much closer now and clearly aiming for them.

'I know,' Ten whispered back. 'And the differentials are collapsing.' Rose looked, and indeed the line was fluctuating. 'Scuse me,' he said cheerfully, though not as slowly as before, to their opponents. And with that, he turned and dashed towards the Tardis.

The opponents shouted in anger. The Sycorax shot at Ten but missed. Rose and River ran, following Ten but keeping their weapons trained on the opponents.

The red line disappeared. The unnaturally slow movements of their pursuers readjusted, and Rose realised that there was no more protection. The air was clear in all directions and there was no more murky red on the horizon.

'Stop,' the Sycorax shouted, 'or we will kill you.'

A warning shot zipped past Ten, narrowly missing him. He skidded to a halt, Rose and River right behind him. They were twenty feet from the Tardis. But before their pursuers could react, Ten snapped his fingers and the doors of the Tardis opened. As quick as lightning, he pulled out one wire from the round device he carried. As soon as it went dark, he drop-kicked it. It sailed across the space and right through the doors. He snapped his fingers again and the doors closed with a bang.

The Sycorax howled in rage and they dashed to the Tardis, yanking on the door handle.

Ten shook his head, smiling ruefully. 'You won't get in there,' he said. 'No matter how much you try.'

'He is correct,' snapped one of the Sycorax. 'It is the Doctor's infernal time machine. However, we can kill him for what he's done.'

'No,' shouted one of the scientists. 'We need to know. Why were there such time fractures. That was not part of the plan. He may be a thief, but there's more that needs to be explained here.'

'You don't need explanations,' roared the Sycorax. 'You listen to us and us only.'

'I don't think so,' said the government official, and the two Virrukoi guards trained their guns on the Sycorax. One of the Sycorax immediately targeted them. The other two retained their aim on Ten, Rose and River. River and Rose continued to train their guns on the two Sycorax aiming at them.

'Detente,' observed Ten. 'Oh my. So terribly unfriendly.' He clapped his hands together and rubbed them briskly. 'But explanations I can give with, I imagine, a little help from my friends here.' He looked sideways at Rose and River.

'Oh, yes,' said River, smiling grimly.

'You bet,' added Rose.

'That fancy gizmo,' Ten said to the government official, 'was ripping your planet apart. You wanted time to be sped up and your society to evolve faster? It worked. Well, the device, that is. Not your plan. The Sycorax had a different plan. That's what happens when you blindly use alien technology. Ooooh... risky. And your planet is paying the price. Even now. These fractures were all over the globe. Tectonic plates cut into pieces, climate in havoc, planetary orbit and spin?' He whistled. 'You've wrecked your planet, and clean-up is going to take ages. Literally.'

'They came to us for aid,' growled the Sycorax.

Ten shook his head. 'Their mistake. Trying to blend your technology with theirs? And the Sycorax have never been known for either their selfless help or their knowledge of Time. This was as experimental for you as it was for these poor folk on this planet.'

'It would have worked,' the Sycorax snapped.

Ten shook his head. 'Not the way you had it integrated into their systems.'

'Oh my god,' cried Rose. 'No. It wouldn't have.'

Ten looked at her.

'Boolium,' she ground out. 'They wanted the Boolium. It was on their maps.'

Ten looked stunned. 'Within a day, this planet would have been in pieces.' He whipped his head back to glare at the Sycorax speaker. The being stepped back. 'Much easier to mine when the planet's in fragments and inhabitants no longer around to protest. All those veins of Boolium nicely exposed for the taking.'

'Bastards,' growled River. She refreshed her grip on her gun and glared at the Sycorax.

The Virrukoi government official and the scientists looked at one another, at the Sycorax and at Ten in consternation. The official stepped forward, trembling. He glared at the Sycorax. 'We trusted you. Our mistake to trust an alien. Any alien! To think we were trying to protect ourselves against aliens invading our planet, and the very ones who seemed to want to help were the worst of the lot.'

'There are some good aliens out there,' said Ten mildly. 'I'd like to think I'm a good alien, although,' he added as if an afterthought, 'I'm likely to be forever remembered as a thief by you lot. Never mind. I've been a thief before.'

'You were trying to protect your planet,' said Rose softly to the Virrukoi. 'A good thing to want.'

'Just the trust was misplaced,' added River.

'Doesn't matter,' roared the Sycorax. 'The shuttles are landing behind you, laden with warriors. More have gone to the cities. All the cities on this planet. Another device can be installed.'

Rose looked behind her. True to his words, the shuttles had landed, only three hundred feet away. The doors were opening.

'Excuse me!' said Ten. He darted to River's side, seized her left arm and unbuckled her vortex manipulator.

'Hey,' began River.

'Half a tick,' muttered Ten as he strapped it on to his own arm. He poked at a couple of buttons and disappeared in a flash.

The Virrukoi cried out. The Sycorax fired their weapons. Beams zipped through the space where Ten had been but to no avail. Ten was gone.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

It was only a moment later when Ten winked back into existence at the exact same spot where he left.

'That should do it,' he said, satisfied.

Rose pointedly refreshed her grip on her gun and stared at the Sycorax, but she spoke to Ten. 'How did you-? What about the time fractures?'

'Fractures are gone,' he answered. 'No problem now.'

'I don't know what you did,' said River, 'but that army's going to be here in a few minutes... or less.'

Rose looked back quickly, knowing that River was keeping her gaze on the Sycorax. Many Sycorax warriors were emerging from the shuttles. But when she looked at Ten, he was scanning the skies.

'Doctor?'

There was no response, other than a muttered 'Come on.'

The detente continued, but there was a satisfied air to the Sycorax. They knew the stand-off would be finished as soon as the army arrived.

Before she could do anything further, a small, familiar creak came to Rose's ears. No-one noticed it except for her and River. Ten didn't make any sign of having heard it.

Eleven peeked out of the door which he had opened a crack. At the angle of the door to the Sycorax and the Virrukoi, he was still unseen. Only Rose and River stood back far enough to see the gap and the visible half of Eleven's face.

Rose widened her eyes in alarm and shook her head minutely. She shuffled her feet to look nonchalant. Eleven nodded. She saw the device in his hand.

'Too bad there isn't some way to signal for the Judoon,' said River, not looking at the Tardis.

Rose watched Eleven out of the corners of her eyes. He grimaced and shook his head. A wisp of smoke wafted out from the gap in the door.

'Yeah,' she said in response. 'Pity.'

The Virrukoi scientists and government official muttered. 'More aliens?' groused the official. 'That is the last thing we need right now.'

'Oh, I don't know,' said Ten, rocking on his heels, hands in his pockets. 'They'd help you get rid of this lot.' He pointed his chin at the Sycorax. He looked up at the sky again and then crowed in delight. 'A-a-a-and... here they come! Right on time. Always said the Judoon were sticklers for time. Lucky us!'

Everyone stared into the sky. A massive, cylindrical rocket had appeared overhead and was descending. Its motion was ponderous but rapid. From what Rose could tell, it was going to land roughly 200 feet from them on the other side of where the fracture had been. Vibrations started through both the air and the ground. Huge, claw-like protuberances extended from the base in preparation for landing.

The Sycorax howled again in fury. They didn't move, however, but instead gripped their weapons all the tighter. The detente remained. Rose looked back again. The army issuing from the three shuttles had crossed half the distance.

'We're going to be caught in the crossfire!' River hissed.

Rose settled her stance, still keeping her aim on the Sycorax, but she watched Ten out of the corner of her eye. He stood, rocking slightly on his heels, watching the Judoon ship complete its descent.

'Only 200 feet away and we're still standing,' he said, half to himself and half to anyone who might be listening. 'They may be stubborn, opinionated rhinos, but... brilliant technology. Precise. Far more advanced than the Sycorax. No offense,' he added, glancing at the Sycorax who bristled.

The ship landed with a bone-jarring thump. Almost immediately, massive doors at the base of the ship opened and columns of neatly arranged Judoon issued from the ship.

'Drop!' barked Ten in a voice so peremptory and loud that Rose, River, and all the Virrukoi obeyed with alacrity. No sooner than they hit the ground, laser beams whizzed overhead in a multitude. An answering volley came from the Sycorax force behind them.

Rose, however, flipped onto her back and, with her feet towards the nearby Sycorax, kept her gun trained on them. She waggled a free finger at them to emphasize her intent. River, too, was on her back, weapon pointed at the Sycorax who still stood defiantly. However, judging from the nervous looks on their faces, maintaining the detente in the face of advancing Judoon forces and still standing in the crossfire was not by choice. One of the three Sycorax went down.

'Idiots,' muttered River and, in the split second while the remaining three reacted to the loss of their comrade, she calmly shot two of the three that were left. Rose took out the third.

'Into the Tardis,' gasped Ten. 'Quickly!' He scrambled over to the Virrukoi on his hands and knees. 'Come on! It's safe.'

'How is that little shed going to...' began one of the scientists. A beam went over his head, nearly parting his wavy hair.

'It's more than you think,' snapped Rose. She crawled over to grab his hand. 'Just get over...'

But they were too late. The opposing forces were upon them. Before the advancing Sycorax could dispatch them, though, the Judoon warriors merely set up a concentration of fire over their heads before seamlessly marching around them. Within seconds, the formation neatly contained Rose, River, Ten, the Virrukoi and the fallen Sycorax in a perfect circle of massive Judoon.

'Halt,' boomed a Judoon.

All fire ceased. From what Rose could see through the legs of the warriors, the Sycorax did not stand down. But they were clearly outnumbered by the Judoon.

'If you think we will allow you to interfere with us,' shouted a Sycorax warrior, 'you are mistaken. We have our forces in every city on this planet. We are the Sycorax! We have this planet! We got here first! There is no protection on this planet. We got here first and we claim it!'

'Claims do not interest us,' barked the Judoon. 'We control your ships. Your numbers are few.'

Rose looked up past the circle of towering Judoon. Surrounding the Sycorax ship hovering over the city were three Judoon ships. The Sycorax were clearly outmatched.

The Sycorax on the ground screamed in fury. That was beginning to be a familiar sound, Rose thought, grimly satisfied.

'Throw down your arms,' growled the Judoon. 'Crime: violation of interstellar statutes. Verdict: guilty.'

The Sycorax fired. Not a single Judoon fell. The Judoon calmly fired and a third of the Sycorax dropped.

With that, the confrontation ended. The Judoon who were not in the circle protecting Rose and the others strode to the Sycorax forces and took their weapons. They began to herd the Sycorax towards the Judoon ship.

'Well! Thanks for that, big fellas,' said Ten cheerily. He bounded to his feet. 'Knew I could count on you.'

But as the rest of them got to their feet more cautiously, two Judoon seized Ten by his arms.

'You are under arrest. You broke conditions of parole,' another intoned. 'We will take you to the Shadow Proclamation. You will be punished.'

'Wait,' cried Rose. 'He was helping you and helping the people on this planet. He didn't do anything wrong.'

The Judoon speaker turned slightly towards her. 'He broke the conditions. He is guilty. He will be punished.'

'What did you do with my manipulator,' asked River. She snatched it back from him. The Judoon watched her do so impassively.

'Oh, well,' hedged Ten. 'I might have hopped over to a favourite bar of mine. The planet's not that far from here. Knew there'd be plenty of Judoon to take notice.'

'Zog,' shouted Rose. 'You went there to call for help.'

Ten's eyes widened slightly in surprise at Rose's recognition but he nodded. 'Yep. Knew these fine fellows would follow me back here. A little judicial time travel thrown in on my part, and they turned up just at the right time. Very obliging. And all these Sycorax? I knew they wouldn't be able to resist.'

'Hear that?' River stood in front of the Judoon speaker and planted her hands on her hips. 'He was alerting you as per the agreement. There was no way for communications to come from the Tardis, not near all the time fractures. He did it the only way possible.'

'This is true,' said the Judoon.

'Good!' said Rose. She put her hands on her hips and stared at the Judoon. 'Let him go.'

'We're not interested in the reason. He broke the conditions. He is under arrest.' The Judoon holding Ten forced his hands behind his back and they shackled him. One stooped and added chains to his ankles.

'Ah, well,' commented Ten. 'They can't resist an arrest. Bit like expecting me to avoid a little shop at the end of a museum... or a hospital.'

The Judoon didn't comment but instead pulled him away.

'I'm coming with you,' shouted Rose. She ran toward him.

Two Judoon stood in her way. 'No one goes with the prisoner. You may follow to the Shadow Proclamation. You present your case there.'

'No!' cried Rose. 'I'm going with him.'

'You can't,' said Ten, his voice gentle. He gazed at Rose earnestly. 'They won't let you. You know that. Got to see this bit through.'

'What about us,' cried the Virrukoi government official. 'What about our planet?'

Rose started. She had forgotten about the others in the circle. She glanced quickly at the speaker, but her gaze was drawn back to Ten.

'The Sycorax will be removed,' intoned the Judoon.

'What about the Allack?' asked River. Ten looked at her questioningly.

'Pilot fish,' Rose said. Ten's expression cleared and he nodded.

'They will continue aid. We will control them,' said the Judoon dismissively. He turned to leave.

'One more thing!' yelled Rose. 'Four Sycorax are tied up in a bar a block away from where the time fracture was.'

'The pattern of damage will show you where the line was,' added River. 'There may be Virrukoian captives as well.'

The Judoon carelessly waved a massive paw. 'Time fractures have collapsed. We will detect their life signs. They will be removed.'

And with that, the Judoon marched away, Ten in their midst.

'We'll follow you!' shouted Rose. She could see Ten try to glance back and nod, but the Judoon held him so tightly that he was only partially successful. Soon he and all the Judoon disappeared into the great spaceship and the massive hatch closed behind them. Rose watched, hands clenched, as the ship rumbled its way up into the sky and finally disappeared. Only then did she look away reluctantly and turn to the Virrukoi.

'Good luck,' she said to them. 'By the way, there were two really smart and useful Virrukoi-Velki and Vorran. You should probably give them medals or something.'

'Yeah,' said River. 'They kept their heads while others were panicking. Good people to rely on.'

The government official nodded and, with that, Rose dashed back to the Tardis, River following behind. Eleven opened the door and they piled in.

'The Shadow Proclamation.' Rose ran up the steps. 'Get there as fast as you can.'

Eleven strolled up the steps, tossing the device up and down in his hands.

'Come on!' Rose cried. 'What are you waiting for? We have to rescue Ten.'

'It will take the Judoon a while to get him back to the Proclamation,' said River, coming up behind Rose and laying a hand on her shoulder.

'Ten, twelve hours,' said Eleven. He placed the device on the console. 'They have fast ships, but they still need time. And there's no point going to the Proclamation before Ten reaches them. His case won't be considered until he's there.'

She shrugged off River's hand and stepped towards Eleven. 'Jump ahead in time,' she insisted.

Eleven shook his head. 'I still need to fix the Tardis before we go anywhere. Now the time fractures are gone, I can start repairs.'

She felt tears sting in her eyes. River put her arm around her shoulders. 'Come on,' she said gently. 'Let's leave him at it. We'll get Ten back. I promise.'

Suddenly, all the adrenalin after the day's hectic events left her and Rose found herself trembling. 'Yeah,' she mumbled, and she followed River out of the console room, only vaguely aware of River waggling her finger sternly at Eleven on the way out.

_The End_

* * *

_This story will continue in _Time Bound, Part Two: Mending_. Rose and Ten will need to address problems in their relationship before they can move forward. River and Eleven practice their own brand of intervention to help their friends. But the final solution takes them all by surprise._


End file.
